Kneebone Bend

DESCRIPTION: "Kneebone hear God call you." "Kneebone, what's the matter?" "Kneebone in the wilderness." "kneebone in the valley." "Kneebone bend to save my soul."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1942 (Parrish-SlaveSongsOfTheGeorgiaSeaIslands)
KEYWORDS: nonballad religious
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Parrish-SlaveSongsOfTheGeorgiaSeaIslands 13, pp. 80-84, "Knee-bone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rosenbaum-ShoutBecauseFree, p. 127-129, "Kneebone Bend" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #21456
RECORDINGS:
Joe Armstrong, John Davis and the Georgia Sea Island Singers, "Knee-Bone" (on LomaxCD1713) (recorded 1959)
Doretha Skipper and the McIntosh County Shouters, "Kneebone Bend" (on McIntosh1)
Odessa Young and the McIntosh County Shouters, "Kneebone Bend" (on McIntoshShouters-RingShoutOnsiteVideo)
NOTES [101 words]: Art Rosenbaum's liner notes to McIntosh1, quoting the lead singer, Lawrence McKiver: "... when they first come over from Africa over here... So they would sing this song, 'Kneebone in the wilderness -- kneebone in the valley,' they was prayin' at the time, that's why they say 'kneebone bend.' They was bendin' down, they was prayin', they would say, 'Kneebone bend to save my soul,' they was prayin', understand?" (p. 6).
The Parrish text and Rosenbaum-ShoutBecauseFree/McIntoshShouters-RingShoutSongs text and track are "ring shout" songs. The McIntoshShouters-RingShoutOnsiteVideo video show the shout. - BS
Last updated in version 6.7
File: Parr013

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