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I’m Gwine Home on de Mornin’ Train/All My Sins Been Taken Away/Mary Wore Three Links of Chain/All My Sins Are Taken Away/Mary Wore A Golden Chain/As I Went Down in the Valley to Pray
Traditional Old-Time Spiritual and Bluegrass Gospel;
ARTIST: From Newman I. White, American Negro Folk-Songs (1928; reprint ed., n.d., n.p., pp. 60-63), there're 8 versions (A to H) recorded (words only; 7 are from Alabama, 1 from N.C.). Newman says, "No local title given." Version A, reported from northern Alabama, 1915-1916, MS. of G.E. Lumpkin; and Version B
Mary Wore Three Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_rCag1w8H0
I’m Gwine Home on de Mornin’ Train- John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip collection at the Library of Congress. Performed by Dock Reed, Jesse Allison, and Hettie Godfrey. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, 1939.
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/7410
CATEGORY: Traditional Bluegrass Gospel;
DATE: 1800s; First Recorded in 1927 by Price Family Sacred Singers (I Went Down Into the Garden To Pray); Buffalo Ragged Five (All My Sins Are Taken Away) 1932
RECORDING INFO: All My Sins Been Taken Away [Me III-C 4]
Mary Wore Three Links of Chain [Me III-C 4]
Rt - Hold On
At - All My Sins Been Taken Away
Buffalo Ragged Five (All My Sins Are Taken Away) 1932
Price Family Sacred Singers (I Went Down Into the Garden To Pray) 1927
Sandburg, Carl (ed.) / American Songbag, Harcourt, Sof (1955/1928), p474
Kincaid, Bradley. Mountain Ballads and Old Time Solos. Album Number Six, Bluebonnet BL 123, LP (1963), trk# B.05 [1963/07ca]
Richardson, John. Morris, Alton C. / Folksongs of Florida, Univ. Florida, Bk (1950), p168/# 90 [1934-39] (Mary Wore Three Silver Chains)
OTHER NAMES: "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain" "My Sins Are All Taken Away"
"Mary Wore A Golden Chain" "I’m Gwine Home on de Mornin’ Train" "As I went down in the valley to pray"
RELATED TO: "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" "Free at Last"
SOURCES: Folk Index; Meade
NOTES: "All My Sins Been Taken Away" is closely tied to "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain" and the similar "Hand Me Down My Walking Chain." James Blnd reportedly wrote/arranged "Hand Me Down My Walking Chain" in 1880 but there seems to be little evidence and no sheet music to back up this claim.
The Great Song Thesaurus (Oxford UP) has an entry "(Oh) Hand Me Down My Walking Cane," and it says: 1865 w.m. traditional black American spiritual
Even this seems suspect as there is no reference to the source. The song, "Hand Me Down My Walking Chain" was popular among both blacks and whites and was recorded by various early Country string bands with Gid Tanner then Kelly Harrell both in 1926.
How do you separate the spirituals? Versions of "All My Sins Been Taken Away" usually include lyrics from "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain" while "Hand Me Down My Walking Chain" has more secular lyrics such as , "going to leave here on the midnight train."
"All My Sins Been Taken Away" usually doesn't have the "hand me down my walking cane" verse.
One of the early versions of "All My Sins Been Taken Away" was published in 1922 by E. A. Perkins in the Journal of American Folk-Lore.
21. ALL ER MY SINS ARE TAKEN ERWAY- 1922 JOAFL
CHORUS: All er my sins are taken erway.
All er my sins are taken erway.
All er my sins are taken erway,
Oh, glory to His name!
All er my sins are taken erway.
Taken erway.
Sister Mary wore three links of chain,
Sister Mary wore three links of chain,
Sister Mary wore three links of chain,
Every link had Jesus' name.
All er my sins are taken erway.
Taken erway.
CHORUS:
If I had er died when I was young,
I had er died when I was young.
If I had er died when I was young,
I wouldn't have had this race to run.
All er my sins are taken erway.
Taken erway.
CHORUS:
The tallest tree in Paradise,
The tallest tree in Paradise,
The tallest tree in Paradise,
The Christians call it the tree of life.
All er my sins are taken erway,
Taken erway.
CHORUS:
As I went down in the valley to pray,
As I went down in the valley to pray,
I went down in the valley to pray,
I went down in the valley to pray.
My soul got happy and I staid all day.
All er my sins are taken erway,
Taken erway.
CHORUS:
If I had wings like Noah's dove,
If I had wings like Noah's dove,
If I had wings like Noah's dove,
I'd fly away to the world above,
All er my sins are taken erway.
Taken erway.
CHORUS:
"All My Sins Been Taken Away" BALLAD INDEX:
DESCRIPTION: "I don't care what this world may say, The're all taken away... All my sins are taken away, taken away." Much of the rest of the song floats, e.g. "The devil is mad and I am glad."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (recording, Kelly Harrell)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad floatingverses
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
BrownIII 551, "All My Sins Been Taken Away" (1 text)
Chappell-FSRA 85, "My Sins Are All Taken Away" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4205
RECORDINGS:
Kelly Harrell, "All My Sins Are Taken Away" (Victor 40095, 1929; on KHarrell02)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane" (lyrics)
cf. "Free at Last" (lyrics)
Notes: This song shares nearly every word of its contents with "Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane," and I initially lumped them. But there are enough versions without the walkin' cane that I finally split them. This particular version seems best-known in North Carolina; perhaps it's a local sub-text? - RBW
"All My Sins Been Taken Away" is known by a number of titles including "As I went down in the Valley to Pray," "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain," "My Sins Are All Taken Away," "I’m Gwine Home on de Mornin’ Train" and "Mary Wore A Golden Chain."
In Alton C. Morris, Folksongs of Florida (University of Florida Press, 1950, 1990, pp. 168-169; with tune), there's another version, which "the white people of Florida have borrowed," recorded from the singing of Mr. John Richardson, Jacksonville, who learned the song from his father:
ALL MY SINS BEEN TAKEN AWAY- (MARY WORE THREE SILVER CHAIN)
Mary wore three silver chain;
Oh, Mary wore three silver chain;
Mary wore three silver chain;
Each chain bore the Saviour's name.
All of my sins been taken away, taken away.
Oh, Mary weeped, and Martha moaned;
Oh, Mary weeped, and Martha moaned;
Oh, Mary weeped, and Martha moaned;
You better let God's chillun alone.
All of my sins been taken away, taken away.
SIS MARY WORE THREE LINKS OF CHAIN- From Newman I. White, American Negro Folk-Songs (1928; reprint ed., n.d., n.p., pp. 60-63), there're 8 versions (A to H) recorded (words only; 7 are from Alabama, 1 from N.C.). Newman says, "No local title given." The following is the version A, reported from northern Alabama, 1915-1916, MS. of G.E. Lumpkin:
Sis Mary wore three links ob chain,
Sis Mary wore three links o' chain,
Sis Mary wore three links o' chain,
Glory, glory, to his name,
All my sins been taken er way, taken er way.
Chorus: All my sins er taken away,
All my sins been taken er way,
All my sins been taken er way,
Glory, glory, to his name,
All my sins been taken er way, taken er way.
I'm gwine er way on the mountain,
I'm gwine er way on the mountain,
I'm gwine er way on the mountain,
Glory, glory, to his name,
All my sins been taken er way, taken er way.
Sis Mary had one baby child,
Sis Mary had one baby child,
Sis Mary had one baby child,
And every time that child would cry
All my sins been taken er way, taken er way.
O! you oughter been there when I come through,
O! you oughter been there when I come through,
O! you oughter been there when I come through,
I believe ter my soul you'd er shouted too.
All my sins been taken er way, taken er way.
O! Mary, Mary de Mag-delene,
O! Mary, Mary de Mag-delene,
O! Mary, Mary de Mag-delene.
She washed her feet and she washed 'em clean,
All my sins been taken er way, taken er way.
ALL MY SINS DONE TAKEN AWAY- White (version B) sung by field hands 1915-1616
Sister Mary wore three links ob chain,
Sister Mary wore three links ob chain,
All dem links had Jesus' name,
All my sins done taken away, taken away.
Been to de riber and I bin baptized
Been to de riber and I bin baptized
All my sins done taken away, taken away.
Going to Heben on de morning train,
Going to Heben on de morning train,
All don't hear me'll hear me sing.
All my sins done taken away, taken away.
Little David was a shepherd boy,
Little David was a shepherd boy,
Killed Goliath and leaped for joy,
All my sins done taken away, taken away.
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