Heaven is a Beautiful Place (II)

DESCRIPTION: "Elisha has done and seen the beautiful place. Heaven is a lovely place I know, I know." "Elisha done seen the sight, And said he didn't need any light. He has gone on to Heaven to rest. Heaven is a beautiful place, I know."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious Bible nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 579, "Heaven Is a Beautiful Place" (2 texts, but only "B" is this piece; "A" is "Heaven is a Beautiful Place (I)")
Roud #11830
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Heaven is a Beautiful Place (I)" (lyrics)
NOTES [149 words]: The editors of Brown saw fit to lump the two "Heaven is a Beautiful Place" songs, but while they share the "Heaven is a beautiful place... If you want to go to heaven on time" stanza, the rest seems quite distinct; version (I) is a description of heaven; version (II) is mostly about Elisha.
It's not at all clear to me why Elisha is singled out in this song; he reported no visions of heaven, and it was Elijah, not Elisha, who was carried up into heaven (2 Kings 2). Elisha simply died and was buried in an ordinary manner (2 Kings 13).
It's true that Elisha was responsible for an astonishing number of miracles (including one after his death) -- but they were not really *inspiring* miracles; the result reads almost like a Davy Crockett story, but with miracles rather than animals: Where Davy might kill a bear and defeat a wildcat, Elisha would cure a leper and feed a multitude.... - RBW
File: Br3579B

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography