- Mary Don't You Weep
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"Mary Don't You Weep" Song by Fisk Jubilee Singers Released 1915 Genre Christian music Cover versions The Swan Silvertones, The Soul Stirrers, The Caravans, Stonewall Jackson, Pete Seeger, Take 6, Trin-i-tee 5:7, Mike Farris, The Kingston Trio "Mary Don't You Weep" (alternately titled "O Mary Don't You Weep", "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep, Don't You Mourn", or variations thereof) is a Negro spiritual that originates from before the American Civil War[1] – thus it is what scholars call a "slave song," "a label that describes their origins among the enslaved," and it contains "coded messages of hope and resistance."[2] It is one of the most important of Negro spirituals.[1]
The song tells the Biblical story of Mary of Bethany and her distraught pleas to Jesus to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead.[1] Other narratives relate to The Exodus and the Passage of the Red Sea, with the chorus proclaiming Pharaoh's army got drown-ded!, and to God's rainbow covenant to Noah after the Great Flood.[1] With liberation thus one of its themes, the song again become popular during the 1950s and 1960s American Civil Rights Movement.[1] (Additionally, a song that explicitly chronicles the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, "If You Miss Me from the Back of the Bus", written by Charles Neblett of The Freedom Singers, was sung to this tune and became one of the most well-known songs of that movement.[3])
The first recording of the song was by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1915.[1] The best known recordings were made by the vocal gospel group The Caravans in 1958, with Inez Andrews as the lead singer, and The Swan Silvertones in 1959.[4][1] "Mary Don't You Weep" became The Swan Silvertones' greatest hit,[5] and lead singer Claude Jeter's interpolation "I'll be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name" served as Paul Simon's inspiration to write his 1970 song "Bridge over Troubled Water".[6][5] The spiritual's lyric God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water the fire next time inspired the title for The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin's 1963 account of race relations in America.[1]
Many other recordings have been made, by artists ranging from The Soul Stirrers to Burl Ives. Pete Seeger gave it additional folk music visibility by performing it at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, and played it many times throughout his career, adapting the lyrics and stating the song's relevance as an American song, not just a spiritual.[7] In the 1960s, Jamaican artist Justin Hinds had a ska hit with "Jump Out Of The Frying Pan", whose lyrics borrowed heavily from the spiritual. Aretha Franklin recorded a live version of the song for her 1972 album Amazing Grace. An a cappella version by Take 6, simply called "Mary", received wide airplay after appearing on the group's eponymous debut album in 1988. The song is sung briefly at the beginning of the music video for Bone Thugs N Harmony's 1996 "Tha Crossroads". In a pounding big group folk arrangement, it was one of the highlights of the 2006 Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour.[8][9] The song also appeared on Mike Farris' 2007 album Salvation in Lights. Entitled as "Don't You Weep, Mary", this song is on The Kingston Trio compact disc Two Classic Albums.[10]
There was also an adaptation of this song recorded in the Greek language. The title was "Mairi Mi Lypasai Pia", and was written and recorded by the Greek songwriter, Manos Xydous, on his 2010 album Otan tha fygo ena vrady apo 'do as well as on the collection Epityhies 2011.[11][12]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Marsh, Dave. "Dave Marsh's Notes for Bruce Springsteen's "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions"". Brucespringsteen.net. http://www.brucespringsteen.net/Seeger_Marsh_notes.pdf. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ^ Wren, Brian A. (2000). Praying twice: the music and words of congregational song. Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 194–95. ISBN 9780664256708. http://books.google.com/books?id=YGLd5t-CT70C&pg=PA194.
- ^ Mary C. Turck, Freedom Song: Young Voices and the Struggle for Civil Rights, Chicago Review Press, 2008. ISBN 155652773X. p. 52.
- ^ Boyer, Horace Clarence (2000). The golden age of gospel. U of Illinois P. pp. 176–78. ISBN 9780252068775. http://books.google.com/books?id=EzZ7GjkQixkC&pg=PA177.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Michael. "The Swan Silvertones: Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p2413/biography. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ^ Sisario, Ben. "Claude Jeter, Gospel Singer With Wide Influence, Dies at 94 ", The New York Times, January 10, 2009. Accessed January 11, 2009.
- ^ Winkler, Allan M. (2009). To Everything There Is a Season: Pete Seeger and the Power of Song. Oxford UP. p. 101–102. ISBN 9780195324815. http://books.google.com/books?id=1o-tCImWhQEC&pg=PA101.
- ^ J. Freedom du Lac (2006-05-30). "Detour From E Street". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/29/AR2006052901110.html. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
- ^ Melissa Block (2006-04-26). "Springsteen Speaks: The Music of Pete Seeger". All Things Considered (NPR). http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5362968. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
- ^ "The Kingston Trio – Two Classic Albums". Collector's Choice. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00003W0XE. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
- ^ "Manos Xydous – Otan tha fygo ena vrady apo do". Groovemobile.net. http://web.3roi.groovemobile.net/webstore/index.htm?cc=main&ca=displayalbum&lang=en&aid=499782&albumid=974790&gid=1&gmroute=Ch91. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
- ^ "Mairi Mi Lypasai Pia: Filippos Pliatskias Manos Xydous". Amazon. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004GIRT24. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
External links
Categories:- Christian songs
- Gospel songs
- American folk songs
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