When the Saints Go Marching In

"When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as "The Saints", is an American gospel hymn. Though it originated as a Christian hymn, it is often played by jazz bands. This song was famously recorded on May 13, 1938 by Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra.[1] The song is sometimes confused with a similarly titled composition "When the Saints are Marching In" from 1896 by Katharine Purvis (lyrics) and James Milton Black (music).[2]

Uses

The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs, a painting by Fra Angelico, 15th century.

The origins of this song are unclear.[2] It apparently evolved in the early 1900s from a number of similarly titled gospel songs including "When the Saints Are Marching In" (1896) and "When the Saints March In for Crowning" (1908).[3] The first known recorded version was in 1923 by the Paramount Jubilee Singers on Paramount 12073. Although the title given on the label is "When All the Saints Come Marching In," the group sings the modern lyrics beginning with "When the saints go marching in..." No author is shown on the label. Several other gospel versions were recorded in the 1920s, with slightly varying titles but using the same lyrics, including versions by The Four Harmony Kings (1924), Elkins-Payne Jubilee Singers (1924), Wheat Street Female Quartet (1925), Bo Weavil Jackson (1926), Deaconess Alexander (1926), Rev. E. D. Campbell (1927), Robert Hicks (AKA Barbecue Bob, 1927), Blind Willie Davis (1928), and the Pace Jubilee Singers (1928).[4]

The earliest versions were slow and stately, but as time passed the recordings became more rhythmic, including a distinctly up tempo version by the Sanctified Singers on British Parlophone in 1931. Even though the song had folk roots, a number of composers claimed copyright in it in later years, including Luther G. Presley[5] and Virgil Oliver Stamps,[6] R.E. Winsett,[7] and Frank and Jim McCravy. Although the song is still heard as a slow spiritual number, since the mid 20th century it has been more commonly performed as a "hot" number. The tune is particularly associated with the city of New Orleans. A jazz standard, it has been recorded by a great many jazz and pop artists.

Both vocal and instrumental renditions of the song abound. Louis Armstrong was one of the first to make the tune into a nationally known pop tune in the 1930s. Armstrong wrote that his sister told him she thought the secular performance style of the traditional church tune was inappropriate and irreligious. Armstrong was in a New Orleans tradition of turning church numbers into brass band and dance.

Lyrics

As with many numbers with long traditional folk use, there is no one "official" version of the song or its lyrics. This extends so far as confusion as to its name, with it often being mistakenly called "When the Saints Come Marching In". As for the lyrics themselves, their very simplicity makes it easy to generate new verses. Since the first and second lines of a verse are exactly the same, and the third and fourth are standard throughout, the creation of one suitable line in iambic tetrameter generates an entire verse.

It is impossible to list every version of the song, but a common standard version runs:

Oh, when the saints
Go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Oh how I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Oh, when the drums begin to bang
Oh, when the drums begin to bang
I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Oh, when the stars fall from the sky
Oh, when the stars fall from the sky
I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Oh, when the moon turns red with blood
Oh, when the moon turns red with blood
I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Oh, when the trumpet sounds its call
Oh, when the trumpet sounds its call
I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Oh, when the horsemen begin to ride
Oh, when the horsemen begin to ride
I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Oh, when the fire begins to blaze
Oh, when the fire begins to blaze
I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in.

Often the first two words of the common third verse line ("Lord, how I want...") are sung as either "Oh how," "Oh, Lord" or even "Lord, Lord" as grace notes to the simple melody at each 3rd line.

Arrangements vary considerably. The simplest is just an endless repetition of the chorus. Verses may be alternated with choruses, or put in the third of 4 repetitions to create an AABA form with the verse as the bridge.

One common verse in "hot" New Orleans versions runs (with considerable variation) like thus:

I used to have a playmate
Who would walk and talk with me
But since she got religion
She has turned her back on me.

Some traditional arrangements often have ensemble rather than individual vocals. It is also common as an audience sing-along number. Versions using call and response are often heard, e.g.:

Call: Oh when the Saints
Response: Oh when the Saints!

The response verses can echo the same melody or form a counterpoint melody, often syncopated opposite the rhythm of the main verses, and a solo singer might sing another counterpoint melody (solo soprano or tenor) as a 3rd part in more complex arrangements.

Analysis of the traditional lyrics

The song is apocalyptic, taking much of its imagery from the Book of Revelation, but excluding its more horrific depictions of the Last Judgment. The verses about the Sun and Moon refer to Solar and Lunar eclipses; the trumpet (of the Archangel Gabriel) is the way in which the Last Judgment is announced. As the hymn expresses the wish to go to Heaven, picturing the saints going in (through the Pearly Gates), it is entirely appropriate for funerals.

Artists who have performed and recorded the song

As gospel hymn

With traditional lyrics

With non-traditional lyrics

With no lyrics

Popular culture

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/music/may13.htm
  2. 1 2 CyberHymnal: http://hymntime.com/tch/htm/w/s/a/wsamarch.htm
  3. ↑ James J. Fuld, The Book of World-Famous Music, Classical, Popular and Folk, Fourth Edition, 1995
  4. ↑ Robert M. W. Dixon, John Godrich, & Howard Rye, Blues and Gospel Records 1890-1943, Fourth Edition, 1997
  5. ↑ Luther Presley Collection
  6. ↑ "When the Saints Go Marching In" arranged by Luther G. Presley & Virgil O. Stamps, Starlit Crown (Pangburn, AR: Stamps-Baxter Music Company, 1937),
  7. ↑ Ruth Winsett Shelton, editor. Best Loved Songs and Hymns (Dayton, TN: R. E. Winsett Music Company, 1961), Item 158.
  8. ↑ Robert M.W. Dixon, John Godrich, & Howard Rye, Blues and Gospel Records 1890-1943, Fourth Edition, 1997.
  9. ↑ Tim Brooks, Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry 1890-1919 (2004), 457-458.
  10. ↑ "Paramoung 12000 series numerical listing (1922–1927)". www.78discography.com. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Sam Butler/Bo Weavil Jackson discography". wirz.de. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  12. ↑ Illustrated Sleepy John Estes discography
  13. ↑ Barnes & Noble.com - Audio Player: Peace in the Valley: The Complete Gospel Recordings [Box Set], Elvis Presley, CD
  14. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glAu9xxlMJ8&list=PLiFG--hp3gpW60VYhtj8L7nkAe8FjPqH7
  15. ↑ Dave Walker, "'Who dat?' popularized by New Orleans Saints fans when 'everybody was looking for the sign'", Times-Picayune, January 12, 2010, pp. A1, A10 (Saint Tammany Edition).
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ Listen to When The Reds Go Marching In football song. Stoke MP3 FIFA 13 SCFC chant. Fanchants.co.uk. Retrieved on 2013-07-29.
  18. ↑ Listen to Oh When The Spurs Go Marching In football song. Spurs MP3 FIFA 13 THFC chant. Fanchants.co.uk. Retrieved on 2013-07-29.
  19. ↑ ClassicTVThemes, The Law and Mr. Jones: http://www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/lawAndMrJones.html
  20. ↑ Al Hirt, Our Man in New Orleans Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  21. ↑ Al Hirt, The Best of Al Hirt Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  22. ↑ Johnny and the Hurricanes
  23. ↑ Sandberg, Bo (2007). Försvarets marscher och signaler - För och nu. Uppsala: Militärmusiksamfundet med Svenskt Marscharkiv. ISBN 978-91-631-8699-8. Viewed 2012-05-09 (Swedish).
  24. ↑ Gretchen Marie-Goode, "Walk Around The Block With Barney", Hartford Courant, May 6, 1999.

External links

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