Story Behind The Song
This is the story of a runaway slave named Samuel Porter.
Song Description
This is an homage to the old slave spirituals of the early to mid 1800s. This song is from the perspective of Samuel Porter who had escaped from a plantation in Mississippi.
| Song Length |
3:25 |
Genre |
Folk - Americana, Country - Americana |
| Tempo |
Medium Slow (91 - 110) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Frantic, Stressed |
Subject |
Danger, Slavery |
| Similar Artists |
The Civil Wars, Alison Krauss |
Language |
English |
| Era |
1800 - 1899 |
| |
Lyrics
The banks of the Jordan gonna be my road I'll follow the river till it takes me home
Washed in the water, pray the Lord my soul to keep
O my God I've been laid so low The devil won't seem to let me go
Washed in the water, pray the Lord my soul to keep
Gabriel's coming to take me home
I was born into the grave I've been set free and yet still a slave
Washed in the water, pray the Lord my soul to keep
I can hear the hounds that Satan sent Getting closer now must have caught my scent
Washed in the water, pray the Lord my soul to keep
Running for cover I heard it ring out Into the water the shot threw me down
Washed in the water, pray the Lord my soul to keep
Blood in the water, my time has run out I'll make it ashore, Lord, I know it somehow
Washed in the water, pray the Lord my soul to keep
The Good Lord's coming to take me home
© 2011 Brad Loomis
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