Analysis of Negro Spirituals
IN DAT GREAT GITTIN’-UP MORNIN’
I ’M a gwine to tell you bout de comin’ ob de Saviour,—
Fare you well, Fare you well,
Dere ’s a better day a-comin’,
When my Lord speaks to his Fader,
Says, Fader, I ’m tired o’ bearin’,
Tired o’ bearin’ for poor sinners:
O preachers, fold your Bibles;
Prayer-makers, pray no more,
For de last soul’s converted.
In dat great gittin’-up Mornin’,
Fare you well, Fare you well.
De Lord spoke to Gabriel:
Say, go look behind de altar,
Take down de silver trumpet,
Go down to de sea-side,
Place one foot on de dry land,
Place de oder on de sea,
Raise your hand to heaven,
Declare by your Maker,
Dat time shall be no longer,
In dat great gittin’-up Mornin’, etc.
Blow your trumpet, Gabriel.
Lord, how loud shall I blow it?
Blow it right calm and easy,
Do not alarm my people,
Tell dem to come to judgment,
In dat great gittin’-up Mornin’, etc.
Gabriel, blow your trumpet.
Lord, how loud shall I blow it?
Loud as seven peals of thunder,
Wake de sleepin’ nations.
Den you see poor sinner risin’,
See de dry bones a creepin’,
In dat great gittin’-up Mornin’, etc.
Den you see de world on fire,
You see de moon a bleedin’,
See de stars a fallin’,
See de elements meltin’,
See de forked lightnin’,
Hear de rumblin’ thunder.
Earth shall reel and totter,
Hell shall be uncapped,
De dragon shall be loosened.
Fare you well, poor sinner.
In dat great gittin’-up Mornin’,
Fare you well, Fare you well.
STARS BEGIN TO FALL
I TINK I hear my brudder say,
Call de nation great and small;
I lookee on de God’s right hand
When de stars begin to fall.
Oh, what a mournin’, sister,—
Oh, what a mournin’, brudder,—
Oh, what a mournin’,
When de stars begin to fall!
ROLL, JORDAN, ROLL
MY brudder sittin’ on de tree of life
An’ he yearde when Jordan roll.
Roll, Jordan,
Roll, Jordan,
Roll, Jordan, roll!
O march de angel march;
O my soul arise in Heaven, Lord,
For to yearde when Jordan roll.
Little chil’en, learn to fear de Lord,
And let your days be long.
Roll, Jordan, etc.
O let no false nor spiteful word
Be found upon your tongue.
Roll, Jordan, etc.
SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT
OH de good ole chariot swing so low,—
I don’t want to leave me behind.
O swing low, sweet chariot,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
I don’t want to leave me behind.
Oh, de good ole chariot will take us all home,—
I don’t want to leave me behind.
Swing low, sweet chariot, etc.
BRIGHT SPARKLES IN DE CHURCHYARD
MAY de Lord—He will be glad of me—
In de heaven He ’ll rejoice.
In de heaven, once,
In de heaven, twice,
In de heaven He ’ll rejoice.
Bright sparkles in de churchyard
Give light unto de tomb;
Bright summer, spring’s over,
Sweet flowers in der bloom.
My mother, once,
My mother, twice,
My mother she ’ll rejoice.
In de heaven once, etc.
Mother, rock me in de cradle all de day;—
All de day, etc.
Oh, mother, don’t yer love yer darlin’ child?
Oh, rock me in de cradle all de day.
Rock me, etc.
You may lay me down to sleep, my mother dear,
Oh, rock me in de cradle all de day.
Scheme | A bCabaxxbdAC ebfxghabbI eJhexI fJbxaaI baaaabbdxbAC k lkgKbbaK M xmAAMxnm nxI xxI F xOfFO xOi P hQrsQ Ptbtrsqi lixLibL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 011111 1101111111111 111111 11010101 11111110 110111011 10111110 1101110 110111 1111010 011111 111111 1111100 11101110 1111010 111111 1111111 1110111 111110 011110 1111110 011111100 1110100 1111111 1111010 1101110 1111110 011111100 1001110 1111111 11101110 11110 11111010 111101 011111100 11111110 111101 111010 111001 1111 11110 111010 1111 1101110 111110 011111 111111 10111 1111111 1110101 1111111 1110111 110110 11011 1101 1110111 1101 11111111 1111101 110 110 1101 111101 111010101 1111101 10111111 011111 110100 11111101 110111 110100 111100 1111100111 11111101 1111100 111100 11111101 111110011111 11111101 111100100 110011 111111111 01101101 01101 01101 01101101 110011 111011 110110 110011 1101 1101 1101101 01101100 10110110111 111100 1101111101 1110110111 11100 11111111101 1110110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,999 |
Words | 571 |
Sentences | 38 |
Stanzas | 19 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 11, 10, 6, 7, 12, 1, 8, 1, 8, 3, 3, 1, 5, 3, 1, 5, 8, 7 |
Lines Amount | 101 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 116 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:51 min read
- 63 Views
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"Negro Spirituals" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3427/negro-spirituals>.
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