I Wish I Been Dere (I Wish I Been There)

DESCRIPTION: "My mother, you follow Jesus, My sister, you follow Jesus, My brother, you follow Jesus, To fight until I die. U wish I been there yonder, To climb Jacob's ladder, I wish I been there yonder, To wear the starry crown."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1864 (Higginson-ArmyLifeInABlackRegiment); 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison-SlaveSongsUnitedStates)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Allen/Ware/Garrison-SlaveSongsUnitedStates, p. 29, "I Wish I Been Dere" (1 text, 1 tune)
Higginson-ArmyLifeInABlackRegiment 20, p. 210, "The Baby Gone Home" (1 text)
Roud #11982
NOTES [46 words]: Higginson-ArmyLifeInABlackRegiment's version is "... a funeral hymn for an infant, ... sung plaintively over and over, without variety of words": ("De little baby gone home"(3x) "For to climb up Jacob's ladder") ("I wish I'd been dar"(3x) "For to climb up Jacob's ladder") - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: AAWG029A

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