Downward Road, The

DESCRIPTION: "Well, brother, the downward road is crowded... with unbelieving souls." The song lists various endangered sinners and their fated condemnation. "When I was a sinner, I loved my distance well, But when I come to find myself I was hangin' over Hell."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1901 (Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute)
KEYWORDS: religious Hell warning nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute, p. 14, "Oh, de Downward Road Is Crowded (The Downward Road Is Crowded)" (1 text, 1 tune; p. 119 in the 1901 edition)
Lomax-FolkSongsOfNorthAmerica 256, "The Downward Road" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11945
File: LoF256

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