Turtledove Done Drooped His Wings
July 9, 2010 8:50 PM
DMelanogaster and I sing an a capella spiritual.
Bessie Jones sings this song on the Lomax Recording, Georgia Sea Island Singers Southern Journey, V. 12: Georgia Sea Islands -- Biblical Songs and Spirituals. Mrs Jones learned 'Turtle Dove' from her ex-slave grandfather, Jet Samson. The old people said this song of rejoicing was sung by the angels when the devil was put out of heaven, 'Sa-sa-la-do' being the solfege of this glorious refrain. This unique spiritual reflects in its many mysterious lines the mysticism of slave Christianity.
Bessie Jones sings this song on the Lomax Recording, Georgia Sea Island Singers Southern Journey, V. 12: Georgia Sea Islands -- Biblical Songs and Spirituals. Mrs Jones learned 'Turtle Dove' from her ex-slave grandfather, Jet Samson. The old people said this song of rejoicing was sung by the angels when the devil was put out of heaven, 'Sa-sa-la-do' being the solfege of this glorious refrain. This unique spiritual reflects in its many mysterious lines the mysticism of slave Christianity.
posted by Obscure Reference (2 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
Everything I know about it, I learned on the web when trying to get at the "true" lyrics (there are several variants, it seems.) In other words, I've told you all I know.
posted by Obscure Reference at 8:24 AM on July 10, 2010
posted by Obscure Reference at 8:24 AM on July 10, 2010
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Thanks for posting. We need more harmony like this around here.
Georgia sea islands--is this a Gullah tune? It's such a fascinating history. My jaw dropped when I realized how close Gullah ring shouts are to certain kinds of Afro-Brazilian music. Elements of African musical practices continued there that fell away almost everywhere else in the U.S..
posted by umbú at 6:58 AM on July 10, 2010