Old Sheep Done Know the Road, The

DESCRIPTION: "The old sheep done know the road (3x), The young lambs must find the way." Verse: "Shout my sister for you are free ... For Christ has bought your liberty" "Sooner in the morning when I rise ... With crosses and trials on every side"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1874 (Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute)
KEYWORDS: nonballad religious floatingverses Jesus
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute, pp. 4-5, "De Ole Sheep Done Know de Road" (1 text, 1 tune; p. 198 in the 1874 edition)
ADDITIONAL: James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson, The Books of American Negro Spirituals (New York: Viking Press, 1969 (copyright 1925, 1926)), Book 2, pp. 160-161, "De Ol' Sheep Done Know de Road" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12415
RECORDINGS:
Gullah Kinfolk, "De Old Sheep" (on USSeaIsland04)
James Garfield Smalls, "Hard Times/De Ole Sheep Done Know de Road" (on USSeaIsland03)
NOTES [60 words]: Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute's verses include the floaters, "I do believe without a doubt ... The Christian has a right to shout" and "Better mind how you walk on the cross ... For your foot might slip and your soul get lost." The second and fourth line of each verse is "The young lambs must find the way." - BS
Last updated in version 4.1
File: Dett004

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