Oh, Be Ready When the Train Comes In

DESCRIPTION: "We are soldiers in this blessed war, For Jesus we are marching on, With a shout and song." "We are sweeping on to claim the blessed promise... Oh, be ready when the train comes in." Harlots, idolaters, loafers, jokers will not be allowed aboard
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-OnTheTrailOfNegroFolkSongs, p. 258, "Oh, Be Ready When the Train Comes In" (1 text)
NOTES [60 words]: Very little of this is actually Biblical (smoking, e.g., is not mentioned in the Bible, and the Bible isn't entirely unhumorous -- the book of Jonah, e.g., contains many farcical elements). The one fairly clear allusion is to the "land of Beulah" -- a reference to Isaiah 62:4, where the King James version leaves the word beulah -- "married" -- untranslated. - RBW
File: ScaNF258

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