Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
I looked over Jordan & what did I see
Comin' for to carry me home
A band of angles comin' after me / Comin'...
I'm sometimes up & sometimes down
But still I know I'm heavenly [freedom] bound
If you get there before I do
Tell all my friends that I'm comin' too
If I get there before you do
I'll cut a hole & pull you though
language is the spirit voiced, in pencil marks, rhythms and lines
the senses come together at this point in time to tell you a secret story
stolen cows sing to you now, sweet illogical harmonies
you, the cows are dancing now, a faint glimmer and into the distance
NOTES: The rhythm and sound of the spirituals, work songs, and gospel share a particular closeness to the metaphysical qualities of experience - the spirit takes, the soul keeps. The song takes us there and keeps us here by cutting a hole and pulling us through from one moment to the next. The voices in these songs take us to the truth. In Jumping Judy, the hit of the hammer comes on the first of four beats and is followed by a voice summoned from the core. The stumbling, grumbling voice in Joseph Spence's Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer dances all over the four beat, goes where ever it will go. Particularly deep tones come out of the words, "chariot" and "home" in Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. The "a" and "o" notes are sustained and ring deep.
NOTES: The rhythm and sound of the spirituals, work songs, and gospel share a particular closeness to the metaphysical qualities of experience - the spirit takes, the soul keeps. The song takes us there and keeps us here by cutting a hole and pulling us through from one moment to the next. The voices in these songs take us to the truth. In Jumping Judy, the hit of the hammer comes on the first of four beats and is followed by a voice summoned from the core. The stumbling, grumbling voice in Joseph Spence's Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer dances all over the four beat, goes where ever it will go. Particularly deep tones come out of the words, "chariot" and "home" in Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. The "a" and "o" notes are sustained and ring deep.
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