🙌🙏☝️ Claude Ely, a songwriter and preacher from Virginia, describes composing the song while sick with tuberculosis in 1934 when he was twelve years old. He spontaneously performed this song in response to his family's prayers for his health. Blogger Debi Simons found the source of the African-American gospel song "C'aint no grave" in a hymnal published by the Church of God in Christ in 1933. That version was recorded by Bozie Sturdivant in July 1942 (and released in 1943 as "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down") in a slower, gospel style and in 1946-7 by Sister Rosetta Tharpe with barrelhouse piano, Tharpe having grown up in COGIC. [Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain%27t_No_Grave]
The song in Ely's version was recorded (and copyrighted) in 1953, even though he wrote it as early as 1935.
Ain’t No Grave There ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down There ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down When I hear the trumpet sound Gonna get up outa the ground There ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down
Well go down yonder Gabriel Put your foot on the land and sea But don’t you blow that trumpet until you hear from me
Well look way over yonder See people dressed in white I know it was God’s people I seen ’em doin right
Oh look way over Jordan What do you think I see I see a band of angels and they’re comin’ after me
Well I goin to the river of Jordan Bury my knees in the sand Gonna holler high Hosanna til I reach that promised land
Oh look way over yonder What do you think I see I see a band of angels and they’re comin’ after me
Well meet me Jesus meet me Meet me in the middle of the air And if these wings should fail me there won’t be no other pair.
UpTime Community Church
🙌🙏☝️
Claude Ely, a songwriter and preacher from Virginia, describes composing the song while sick with tuberculosis in 1934 when he was twelve years old. He spontaneously performed this song in response to his family's prayers for his health. Blogger Debi Simons found the source of the African-American gospel song "C'aint no grave" in a hymnal published by the Church of God in Christ in 1933. That version was recorded by Bozie Sturdivant in July 1942 (and released in 1943 as "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down") in a slower, gospel style and in 1946-7 by Sister Rosetta Tharpe with barrelhouse piano, Tharpe having grown up in COGIC. [Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain%27t_No_Grave]
The song in Ely's version was recorded (and copyrighted) in 1953, even though he wrote it as early as 1935.
Ain’t No Grave
There ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down
There ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down
When I hear the trumpet sound
Gonna get up outa the ground
There ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down
Well go down yonder Gabriel
Put your foot on the land and sea
But don’t you blow that trumpet until you hear from me
Well look way over yonder
See people dressed in white
I know it was God’s people I seen ’em doin right
Oh look way over Jordan
What do you think I see
I see a band of angels and they’re comin’ after me
Well I goin to the river of Jordan
Bury my knees in the sand
Gonna holler high Hosanna til I reach that promised land
Oh look way over yonder
What do you think I see
I see a band of angels and they’re comin’ after me
Well meet me Jesus meet me
Meet me in the middle of the air
And if these wings should fail me there won’t be no other pair.
1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 19