Ship of Zion (I), The

DESCRIPTION: "What is this ship you're going on board, oh, glory hallelujah (x2)? 'Tis the Old Ship Zion, hallelujah (x4) What colors does she hoist in time of war? oh, glory hallelujah (x2)? 'Tis the bloody robe of Jesus, hallelujah (x4)"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1850 (Bremer)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW,SE)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Allen/Ware/Garrison-SlaveSongsUnitedStates, pp. 102-103, "The Old Ship of Zion" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute, p. 81, "'Tis the Ole Ship of Zion (Ole Ship of Zion)" (1 text, 1 tune; p. 85 in the 1901 edition) [for 1893 edition, see notes]; Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute, pp. 220-221, "Don't You View Dat Ship a-Come a-Sailin?" (1 text, 1 tune; pp. 226-227 in the 1874 edition)
Higginson-ArmyLifeInABlackRegiment 28, p. 214, "The Ship of Zion"; Higginson-ArmyLifeInABlackRegiment 29, pp. 214-215, "The Ship of Zion" (2 texts)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 623, "The Old Ship of Zion" (3 texts, of which "A" is clearly "The Old Ship of Zion (I)" but B is an unidentifiable fragment; C, with references to India and the Ganges, may be a separate piece)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5 623, "The Old Ship of Zion" (5 tunes plus text excerpts, several of which go here although at least one is "The Old Ship of Zion (I)")
Barton-OldPlantationHymns, p. 23, "The Old Ship of Zion" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cazden/Haufrecht/Studer-FolkSongsOfTheCatskills 83, "The Ship of Zion" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 366, "Old Ship of Zion" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Frederika Bremer, Mary Howitt translator, _The Homes of the New World_ Vol. 2 (London: Arthur Hall, Virtue, & Co., 1853 ("Digitized by Internet Archive")), ("It's the old ship of Zion"), p. 418 (1 text)
ST FSC083 (Partial)
Roud #4204
RECORDINGS:
McFadden Gospel Singers, "Old Ship of Zion" (Coleman 5976, n.d.)
Southeast Alabama and Florida Union Sacred Harp Singing Convention, "The Old Ship of Zion" (on USFlorida01)
NOTES [107 words]: In the Sacred Harp, the tune to this is said tentatively to be by Thomas W. Carter.
White reports a whole class of "Ship of Zion" songs, not all of which can easily be distinguished. I've split off some with clear personalities, but some just have to be lumped here. - RBW
Bremer heard "Ship of Zion" in the African Methodist Church in Cincinnati in 1850.
The index to the 1893 edition [of Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute] has "Ole Ship of Zion" on page 85 (Thomas P. Fenner and Frederic G. Rathbun, Cabin and Plantation Songs (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1893)). I have not seen page 85. - BS
Last updated in version 6.7
File: FSC083

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