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Blind Man Lay Beside the Way/De Blin' Man/Bible's Right, The/Blind Man Stood on the Way and Cried
Tradtional Old-Time, Spiritual;
ARTIST: from Carl Sandburg, 1927, "The American Songbag"
Josh White: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hnuJZt7Mvk&feature=related
White Spiritual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma5nbBvUCXc
Spiritual arr. H. T. Burleigh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGySzjrMCJc
Contemporary version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3xPA6Vj6cA
CATEGORY: Traditional and Public Domain Bluegrass Gospel;
DATE: 1800s; 1909 Howard W. Odum, "Religious Folk-Songs of the Southern Negroes" (American Journal of Psychology and Education, vol. iii, p. 356).
RECORDING INFO: Blind Man Stood on the Way and Cried
Lomax, J. A. & A. Lomax / American Ballads and Folk Songs, MacMillan, Bk (1934), p596 [1920s]
Sandburg, Carl (ed.) / American Songbag, Harcourt, Sof (1955/1928), p452 (Blind Man Lay Beside the Way)
Lomax, Alan / Folksongs of North America, Doubleday Dolphin, Sof (1975/1960), p473/#245 [1930s] (Blind Man)
Hurt, Mississippi John. D.C. Blues, Vol 2. Library of Congress Rec...,, Fuel 302 061 495 2, CD (2003), trk# 1.15 [1963/07] (Blind Man Sit in the Way and Cried)
OTHER NAMES: “The Blind Man,” "Blind Man Lay Beside the Way," "Blind Man Stood on the Way and Cried"
SOURCES: from Journal of American folklore, Volume 27 By American Folklore Society 1914.
NOTES: “The Blind Man,” or "Blind Man Stood on the Way and Cried" is a well known African-American spiritual. This version is from the Journal of American folklore, Volume 27 By American Folklore Society 1914.
The song has more recently become a campfire song and is used as a praise song in contemporary services with a slightly different form. Most contemporary versions use the repeated chord progression: Em D C B7 or Am G F E7.
Blind Man
Am G F E7
Blindman stood by the road and he cried
Am G F E7
Blindman stood by the road and he cried
Am G F E7
Blindman stood by the road and he cried
E7
He cried, whoa!
E7 Am G F
Show me the way,
E7 Am G F
Show me the way,
E7 Am G F
Show me the way,
E7
The way to go home.
THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION p. 356; Volume 3 JULY, 1909. No. 8; Religious Folk-Songs of the Southern Negroes by Howard Odum; Fellow in Psychology, Clark University.
BLIND MAN- Again in "The Blind Man" the picture is one of confusing the scriptural scenes with those of the present, and of placing himself in the stead of the central character of the story.
Well the blind man stood by the grave and cried,
Well the blind man stood by the grave and cried,
Yes, the blind man stood by the wave and cried.
He cried, "O Lord, don't you hear po' me?"
Hark, the blind man stood by the wave and cried,
He cried, "O Lord, don't you hear po' me?
"Brother don't you hear the blind cries, blind cries?
Brother don't you hear the blind cries, blind cries?
O brother, don't you hear the blind cries?
Jesus he give de blind man sight, blind man sight,
Jesus he give de blind man sight, blind man sight,
Yes, Jesus he give de blind man sight.
He also sings "sister, don't you hear," etc., brother, father, preacher.
BLIND MAN LAY BESIDE THE WAY-Spiritual from Sandburg 1927
Blind man lay beside the way,
He could not see the light of day...
The Lord passed by and heard him say:
"O Lord, won't you help-a me!
O Lord, won't you help-a me!
2
A man he died, was crucified,
They hung a thief on either side;
One lifted up his voice and cried:
"O Lord, won't you help-a me!
O Lord, won't you help-a me!
3
A blind man lay by the way and cried,
"O Lord, won't you help-a me."
And the thief cried out before he died,
"O Lord, won't you help-a me!
O Lord, won't you help-a me!"
With score, p. 452-453, Carl Sandburg, 1927, "The American Songbag," Harcourt, Brace & Co., NY. Printed without attribution. "A brief story... compact in diction... useless to add or subtract words." Arr. A. G. W.
Listed as a spiritual in "Index to Negro Spirituals," Cleveland Public Library.
This one uses 'way' rather than road, which is found in the well-known old spiritual, "Blind Man Stood on the Road and Cried," versions published by Johnson, Kennedy and White, among others.
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