What does it mean that “If I don’t praise Him the rocks gonter cry out” in “Ain’t Got Time to Die”?

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Since when did rocks cry out? Where on earth did this idea even come from? Straight from the Bible, that’s where. This piece is in the tradition of a true spiritual but has a known author, Hall Johnson. I had a hard time nailing down whether or not Johnson actually wrote the song or simply arranged it, but I managed to come across this clear statement: “’Ain’t Got Time to Die’ is an original Spiritual with words and music by Hall Johnson.” (“The Hall Johnson Concert Spirituals“) Let me quote Mr. Johnson himself on the subject of this music:

True enough, this music was transmitted to us through humble channels, but its source is that of all great art everywhere—the unquenchable, divinely human longing for a perfect realization of life. It traverses every shade of emotion without spilling over in any direction. Its most tragic utterances are without pessimism, and its lightest, brightest moments have nothing to do with frivolity. In its darkest expressions there is always a hope, and in its gayest measures a constant reminder. Born out of the heart-cries of a captive people who still did not forget how to laugh, this music covers an amazing range of mood. Nevertheless, it is always serious music and should be performed seriously, in the spirit of its original conception. (Wikipedia)

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What’s the significance of the rock and the chapters in “My God Is a Rock”?

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Of all the spirituals I’ve sung with my own choir, this one, with its slow pace and minor key, conveys the feelings of an oppressed people the most strongly. It’s not just a series of complaints or calls for help, though. There’s a lot of scriptural truth packed into it.

Let me start out with the meaning of “rock.” As in “Elijah Rock,” the overall reference is to God, but this song spells out a couple of specific ones. God is “a rock in a weary land.” You might think that the word “weary” was put there by the slaves who sang it, but it’s straight from the book of Isaiah in the old King James Version: “The shadow of a rock in a weary land.” Other translations substitute the word “desert” or “parched” for “weary.” So the original meaning probably doesn’t have anything to do with actual physical weariness, but that aspect must have appealed to people whose lives were one great stretch of it. The idea of shade and rest is implicit in the text, as is that of protection: “a shelter in the time of storm” is also from Isaiah. It’s not at all uncommon, by the way, for us to say, “He’s my rock” to refer to a person in our lives who keeps us on track and is always dependable

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What’s the story with Ezekiel’s Wheels?

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image accessed from “The Michigan Catholic”–no attriution given.

Well! The spiritual “Ezekiel Saw De Wheel” is a pretty strange song. Have you ever wondered what on earth it means, or have you just sung it, or listened to it, and enjoyed the rhythm and tune?

If you take a look at the first chapter of the book of Ezekiel in the Jewish Bible/Old Testament you’ll find the source for the images of this spiritual. Ezekiel, we are told, is writing during the Jewish exile in Babylon, which occurred after Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in about 595 BC. He was a contemporary of both Daniel and Jeremiah, and his book is full of visions and prophecies which are pretty strange and hard to understand, it must be admitted. But Ezekiel himself tells us that he’s simply reporting what God showed him:

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How did we get the African-American spirituals?

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PictureThe simplified explanation of how black spirituals came about goes like this: slaves heard about Christianity after arriving in the US and, especially on the southern plantations, came up with sung versions of those teachings that gave them hope of a better life, expressed their longings for deliverance, and often served as rhythmic work songs. All of this is perfectly true but raises further questions: how did this “hearing about Christianity” come about? And why, if you think about it, would slaves adopt the religion of those who had enslaved them? Wouldn’t they see that religion as massive hypocrisy on the part of the slave owners? There’s also a tendency, which I have unfortunately shared, to think of spirituals as rather primitive. But that tendency is clearly mistaken: these are songs with deep meaning, displaying a breadth of Scriptural knowledge. To quote a modern African-American scholar and preacher, Thabiti Anyabwile, “Contrary to what might be supposed given the prohibition of education, reading and writing among slaves, early black Christians evidenced a rather sophisticated and clear theological corpus of thought.”

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What did the angels mean in their words to the shepherds?

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Several interesting (to me, anyway) questions to be answered about what the angels said to the shepherds on Christmas night.

What one New Testament verse contains the two most common phrases found in Christmas music?
I’d have to be clear that I haven’t done a statistical study on this question, and I have no intention of doing so. But if you’ve done much singing or listening at all during the Christmas season you’ve come across these: “Glory to God in the highest” (also rendered as“In excelsis Deo”). and “Peace on earth, good will to men.” These are words recorded in the Gospel of Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Two very short statements with a depth of meaning. Here are some questions and answers to help tease out some of that significance:

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So, what are “frankincense and myrrh”?

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I think we all have a vague idea that these two items, brought by the Magi as gifts (along with gold) to the Christ child, have something to do with perfume or incense, but that’s probably about it. They’re very interesting, though, both in themselves and in their symbolism. So I do want to talk about all that, but first let me say here that the Magi did not come to the stable. All those manger scenes with them and their camels are just plain wrong. But without them the scene wouldn’t be nearly as colorful, would it? So I guess we won’t insist too loudly on scriptural accuracy in decorations.

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Does “Personent Hodie” have anything to do with persons wearing hoodies?

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Sorry.  Couldn’t resist.  And of course the answer is “no,” although hooded monks have probably sung this carol many times through the ages.

So what does the title mean, and (leading question here) are there any interesting facts about the song’s background?  “Personent” means to resound or resonate, literally “to sound through.”  “Hodie” shows up in many Latin Christmas carols; it simply means “today” or “this day.”  So the title means something like “let resounding happen today.”  Perhaps before I go any further I should provide the Latin verses and their literal English translation so that you’ll know what I’m talking about as I go through said background:

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A Pair of Geographically-Named Carols from Sussex and Wessex

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Was the Sussex carol written in Sussex, and the Wexford carol in Wexford?

With this question we are plunged back in to the delightful, charming, and sometimes weird world of traditional Christmas carols, and indeed of folk music in general. Since true folk music, and not someone’s attempt to write something that sounds like folk music, is passed down orally before being written, it’s always pretty much impossible to find the original version, if indeed there is such a thing.

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What is distinctive about Ron Jeffers, composer of “Hanukkah Blessings”?

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What’s distinctive about Ron Jeffers is that he’s a living composer who has produced a significant amount of original music and arrangements, all for sale as sheet music from various outlets including his own company, Earthsongs, and whose music is performed quite frequently if YouTube is anything to go by, and yet . . . he has no online presence whatsoever.  No personal website.  No blog, No (worst of all) Wikipedia entry!  How is this possible?  In fact, if I hadn’t looked under “Ronald Jeffers” instead of either “Ron Jeffers” or “Ronald Harrison Jeffers,” I wouldn’t have gotten much information beyond his date and place of birth and a list of his publications.

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Parts of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” seem awfully dark.  Why is that?

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In order to answer this question, we have to look at what was going on in the life of the lyrics’ author and in his times. Unlike many Christmas carols, we have a known author and date for the words. The words are from a poem of the same name by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow written in December of 1863, when the Civil War was still raging and the outcome anything but clear.

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