Sunday Morning Mountain Gospel Music 164

River of Jordan sung by the Carter Family

I'm going down to the river of Jordan
Oh, yes
I'm going down to the river of Jordan
Some of these days (hallelujah)
I'm going down to the river of Jordan
I'm going down to the river of Jordan
Some of these days

I'm going to eat at the welcome table
Oh, yes
I'm going to eat at the welcome table
Some of these days (hallelujah)
I'm going to eat at the welcome table
I'm going to eat at the welcome table
Some of these days

I'm going to sing in the heavenly choir
Oh, yes
I'm going to sing in the heavenly choir
Some of these days (hallelujah)
I'm going to sing in the heavenly choir
I'm going to sing in the heavenly choir
Some of these days

I'm going to put on the silvery slippers
Oh, yes
I'm going to put on the silvery slippers
Some of these days (hallelujah)
I'm going to put on the silvery slippers
I'm going to put on the silvery slippers
Some of these days

I'm going to sit down by my Jesus
Oh, yes
I'm going to sit down by my Jesus
Some of these days (hallelujah)
I'm going to sit down by my Jesus
I'm going to sit down by my Jesus
Some of these days

Sunday Morning Mountain Gospel Music 143

                              The Church in the Wildwood

                                           Sung by The Carter Family

There's a church in the valley in the wildwood
No lovelier place in the dell
No spot is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the dell

Oh, come, come, come, come

Come to the church in the wildwood
Oh, come to the church in the dell
No spot is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the dell


How sweet on a clear sabbath morning
To listen to the clear ringing bells
Its gongs so sweetly are calling
Oh, come to the church in the dell

Oh, come, come, come, come


Come to the church in the wildwood
Oh, come to the church in the dell
No spot is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the dell


There, close by the side of the loved one
'Neath the tree where the wildflowers bloom
She sleeps, sweet love sleeps 'neath the willow
Disturb not her rest in the tomb

Oh, come, come, come, come


Come to the church in the wildwood
Oh, come to the church in the dell
No spot is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the dell


Oh, come, come, come, come


Come to the church in the wildwood
Oh, come to the church in the dell
No spot is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the dell

Sunday Morning Mountain Gospel Music 135

 

    Gospel Ship sung by the Carter Family

Album: The Carter Family In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain


I'm going to take a trip in that old gospel ship
I'm going far beyond the sky
I'm gonna shout and sing til heaven rings
When I bid this world goodbye

I have good news to bring, and that is why I sing
All my joys with you I'll share
I'm going to take a trip in that old gospel ship
And go sailing through the air

I can scarcely wait, I know I won't be late
I'll spend my time in prayer
And when the ship comes in, I'll leave this world of sin
And go sailing through the air

If you are ashamed of me, you ought not to be
Yes, you'd better have a care
If too much fault you find, you will sure be left behind
While I'm sailing through the air

Sunday Morning Mountain Gospel Music 126

On My Way To Canaan's Land Written by A. P. Carter, sung by the Carter Family   In Remembrance, Steve Edward Rutherford     On My Way To Canaan's Land 
I'm on my way to Canaan's land
I'm on my way to Canaan's land
I'm on my way to Canaan's land
I'm on my way (Praise God) I'm on my way

If father won't go, it won't hinder me
If father won't go, it won't hinder me
If father won't go, it won't hinder me
I'm on my way (Praise God) I'm on my way

If mother won't go, it won't hinder me
If mother won't go, it won't hinder me
If mother won't go, it won't hinder me
I'm on my way (Praise God) I'm on my way

If sister won't go, it won't hinder me
If sister won't go, it won't hinder me
If sister won't go, it won't hinder me
I'm on my way (Praise God) I'm on my way

Oh, be baptized in Jesus's name
Oh, be baptized in Jesus's name
Oh, be baptized in Jesus's name
I'm on my way (Praise God) I'm on my way

I'm on my way to Canaan's land
I'm on my way to Canaan's land
I'm on my way to Canaan's land
I'm on my way (Praise God) I'm on my way

Sunday Morning Mountain Gospel Music 99

Diamonds In The Rough Written by A.P. Carter, sung by the Carter Family

  Diamonds In The Rough    While walking out one evening
Not knowing where to go
Just to pass the time away
Before we held our show

I heard the Bethel Mission band
Singing with all their might
I give my heart to Jesus
And left the show that night

The day will soon be over
And digging will be done
And no more gems be gathered
So let us all press on

When Jesus comes to claim us
And says it is enough
The diamonds will be shining
No longer in the rough

One day my precious comrade
You too were lost in sin
And others sought your rescue
And Jesus took you in

And when you're tired and tempted
And suffer in rebuff
Don't turn away in anger
There's a diamond in the rough

The day will soon be over
And digging will be done
And no more gems be gathered
So let us all press on

When Jesus comes to claim us
And says it is enough
The diamonds will be shining
No longer in the rough

While reading through the Bible
Some wondrous sights I see
I read of Peter, James and John
By the Sea of Galilee

And Jesus when he found them
He found them mighty tough
And they were precious diamonds
He gathered in the rough

The day will soon be over
And digging will be done
And no more gems be gathered
So let us all press on

When Jesus comes to claim us
And says it is enough
The diamonds will be shining
No longer in the rough

Lesley Riddle Meets the Carter Family

Country music may owe its very existence in part to a one-legged African-American guitar player named Lesley Riddle. Riddle made an undeniable impact on the material and overall sound of the Carter Family, and thus on the whole of country music.

"Born June 13, 1905, in Burnsville, North Carolina, guitarist Lesley Riddle is perhaps best known for his association with A. P. Carter and the Carter Family, which began around 1928. A. P. Carter was always searching for new material for the Carter Family, and one morning he returned to nearby Kingsport, Tennessee, to revisit John Henry Lyons, an exceptional African American guitarist. Leslie Riddle dropped by to visit Lyons.

Riddle’s guitar work, gentle voice, and repertoire immediately impressed A. P. Carter, and the two occasionally got together over the next several years. Maybelle Carter stated that she learned Riddle’s finger-picking style and applied it to their 1930 recording of “The Cannon Ball.” The Carter Family also learned “I Know What It Means to Be Lonesome”, "Bear Creek Blues," "March Wings Goin'," "Blow My Blues Away" and "Lonesome For You." from Riddle.

Perhaps most importantly, Leslie Riddle and A. P. Carter went out on several song-hunting trips together, an important example of the type of black and white interpersonal musical exchange that helped to inform the emerging country music industry.

But Riddle’s life consisted of more than his several-years’ acquaintance with the Carter Family. In many respects his life was representative of so many African American non-professional folk musicians growing up in the South in the first half of the twentieth century. He worked at a variety of jobs, ranging from cook to cement factory worker. A bit too old to serve in World War II and, in 1942, in search of more substantial employment, Riddle migrated to Rochester, New York.

Riddle continued to play music for a few years after he moved north, but eventually he stopped performing. In the early 1960s, folklorist-musician Mike Seeger, who learned about Riddle from Maybelle Carter, tracked him down in Rochester. Seeger encouraged Riddle to begin playing music again, and Riddle appeared at a few festivals, where he performed a wide range of gospel, blues, and folk-based selections. He made a number of recordings for Seeger, which were eventually released on the album Step By Step—Lesley Riddle Meets the Carter Family. Riddle died on July 13, 1980."

"Leslie Riddle." (2016) In Encyclopedia of Appalachia, Retrieved February 16, 2016, from Encyclopedia of Appalachia: http://www.www.encyclopediaofappalachia.com/entry.php?rec=14

Sunday Morning Mountain Gospel Music 76

When The World's On Fire Written by Virginia Franks, arranged by AP Carter, sung by the Carter Family


When The World's On Fire   Oh, loving mother, when the world's on fire
Don't you want God's bosom to be your pillow
Tide me over in the Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages cleft for me

I'm going to heaven when the world's on fire
And I want God's bosom to be my pillow
Tide me over in the Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages cleft for me

[Instrumental break]

Oh, my loving brother, when the world's on fire
Don't you want God's bosom to be your pillow
Tide me over in the Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages cleft for me

Oh, my loving sinner, when the world's on fire
Don't you want God's bosom to be your pillow
Tide me over in the Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages cleft for me

[Instrumental break]

Don't you want to go to heaven when the world's on fire
Don't you want God's bosom to be your pillow
Tide me over in the Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages cleft for me  

Sunday Morning Mountain Gospel Music 51

Room In Heaven For Me
Sung by the Carter Family



Room In Heaven For Me
Beyond the sea where faiths of glorious beam
Where things abide that I have never seen
The soul's sweet home desperate never more
Will there be room for me on that bright shore

   There's room (room for you and me) yes room (room for you and me)
   There's room (room for me) for all (room enough for all)
   There's room (yes there's room for me) for all (room enough for all)
   There's room (room enough in heaven) for me

That wondrous city far beyond confine
Where all is joy and peace so pure divine
In visions I in varying streaks can see
And wonder if there's room in heaven for me      There's room (room for you and me) yes room (room for you and me)
   There's room (room for me) for all (room enough for all)
   There's room (yes there's room for me) for all (room enough for all)
   There's room (room enough in heaven) for me

I long to soar away and be at rest
And there to lean upon my savior's breast
Oh won't that be a glorious victory
To find that there is room in heaven for me
   There's room (room for you and me) yes room (room for you and me)
   There's room (room for me) for all (room enough for all)
   There's room (yes there's room for me) for all (room enough for all)
   There's room (room enough in heaven) for me