Prior to the latest round of restrictions in Alberta, we met our grandchildren for a morning walk to a neighbourhood park. Holding 5-year-old Violet’s gloved hand, I twirled her around and started to sing Jingle Bells.
“No Nana let’s sing my favourite,” Violet stopped and pulled me down, closer to her.
“There was a little baby,” she began to sing. From the inside of the stroller, where her 2-year-old brother Finn sat, a “Me too!” called back to us.
The carol singing began with Violet and Finn chiming together on the refrain.
There was a little baby, Oh my Lord.
There was a little baby, Oh my Lord.
There was a little baby, Oh my Lord. Way down in Bethlehem.
They layed him in a manger, Oh my Lord.
They layed him in a manger, Oh my Lord.
They layed him in a manger, Oh my Lord. Way down in Bethlehem.
They named the baby Jesus, Oh my Lord.
They named the baby Jesus, Oh my Lord.
They named the baby Jesus, Oh my Lord. Way down in Bethlehem.
Violet chose this song because we had sung it together at Christmastime whenever she came to visit. Raffi, a popular singer/lyricist of children’s songs, had featured it on his Christmas album. This became her most requested song during December 2017 when Violet as an older two-year-old became aware of a little baby coming to join her family in the summer of 2018. Not surprisingly when her Mommy and Daddy asked her what they should name the new little baby, Violet declared that he/she should be called Jesus.
A simple song, with a catchy rhythm. A refrain that resounds throughout the Christmas season, “Oh my Lord, Way down in Bethlehem.”
This month I discovered this song has a profound history, rooted in the African American Spirituals from the slavery period. Derived from the spiritual called, Mary Had a Baby, it has been recorded by various gospel singers over the years.
MARY HAD A BABY
Saint Helena Island Spiritual
Collected by N. G. J. Ballanta-Taylor
Mary had a baby, oh, Lord,
Mary had a baby, oh my Lord,
Mary had a baby, oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.
What did she name him? oh, Lord,
What did she name him? oh my Lord,
What did she name him? oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.
She named him Jesus, oh, Lord,
She named him Jesus, oh my Lord,
She named him Jesus, oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.
Named him King Jesus (My Lord)
Named him King Jesus (Oh My Lord)
Named him King Jesus (My Lord)
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.
Now where was he born? oh, Lord,
Where was he born? oh my Lord,
Where was he born? oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.
Born in a stable, oh, Lord,
Born in a stable, oh my Lord,
Born in a stable, oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.
And where did she lay him? oh, Lord,
Where did she lay him? oh my Lord,
Where did she lay him? oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.
She laid him in a manger, oh, Lord,
Laid him in a manger, oh my Lord,
Laid him in a manger, oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.
Several more verses follow as transcribed and recorded by N. G. J. Ballanta-Taylor, who went to Saint Helena Island, off the coast of South Carolina, to purposely document the African American Spirituals before they became changed and altered.
Freed slaves and their families lived on the isolated island after emancipation. They continued the practice of singing spirituals in the worship services held at the local praise houses and in their daily work.
In the book Celebration Stories of the Songs of Christmas by Linda Hargrove-Teets, she states: “Mary Had a Baby celebrates the birth of Jesus, the Christ, who brings salvation from slavery of every kind. This spiritual focuses on the gift of the Christ Child, but it is a celebration of mother and child also. First the call, an announcement: Mary had a baby! Then the response of appreciation and awe: Oh my Lord. The refrain, The people keep a-comin’ and the train done gone, ends every verse. Trains represented a new opportunity…They reached and linked places. And they offered a way out. Train imagery figures prominently in African American legends. There were also real trains of the Underground Railroad: “the freedom train,” “the lonesome train,” “the gospel train.”
In further research I learned that this song belongs to a group known as the Marian spirituals which included “Mary Had a Baby, Sing Hallelu,” “Mary Had a Baby , Aye Lawd,” “Mary Had a Baby, Muh Lawd,” and “Mary Had de Leetle Baby,” all four dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the birth of Jesus. The Saint Helena Island Midwifery Program employed these songs during the early 1900’s to remind women of the holiness of giving birth. Although slaves had been trained as midwives during the slavery period, (owners would send them to Charleston for formal training), after being freed many returned to old superstitions and folk remedies. The Marian spirituals became prominent during the Saint Helena Island praise house services to reinforce the sacredness of birth.
This song seems more poignant than ever to me this December. Violet and Finn’s day home owner suffered a miscarriage and closed her facilities to recuperate. Suddenly I had unexpected company as I provided care for my grandchildren. We reveled in our time together decorating the Christmas tree, making crafts, baking cookies, putting on plays, setting up trains, playing in the snow and singing our favourite songs. While I prayed over the loss of one baby, I thought of Mary pondering the pending birth of Jesus. As all mothers do, she probably worried over the travail of labour. As did the mothers who suffered through slavery and the agony of bringing another child into a world of such brutal abuse. As mothers do, continually facing childbirth throughout time, mothers all united in one thought, the baby.
I now sing this song with an awareness beyond imagining. Simple, sweet, rhythmic, profound. This song reminds me that despite the woes of the common world we need to focus on the baby, on Jesus, while on our way to Bethlehem.
Saint Helena Island is part of the Sea Islands region, comprised of the North Carolina, South Carolina, and the Georgia coastal area. Scholars have studied the rich history of African American spirituals coming from the home of the first freed slaves.
Saint Helena Island, Chapel of Ease
Freed slaves worshipped here holding praise services and sang their familiar spirituals.
Thank you for this Denise! I actually know and love this song, too. My daughter and i were just talking about it last week during our Advent celebration. We used to have a cassette of Bruce Colbourne's Christmas Album and it is on that. It's so catchy, but I never really understood the meaning. Thank you for sharing the history of this song.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your excellent research and choice of songs. I've never heard of it before. All I heard were the usual carols and songs by white singers about Santa and the like.
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