Mary Don't You Weep
Encyclopedia
"Mary Don't You Weep" is a Negro spiritual that originates from before the American Civil War
– thus it is what scholars call a "slave song," "a label that describes their origins among the enslaved," and it contains "coded messages of hope and resistance." It is one of the most important of Negro spirituals.
The song tells the Biblical story of Mary of Bethany and her distraught pleas to Jesus
to raise her brother Lazarus
from the dead. Other narratives relate to The Exodus
and the Passage of the Red Sea
, with the chorus proclaiming Pharaoh's army got drown-ded!, and to God's rainbow covenant to Noah after the Great Flood. With liberation thus one of its themes, the song again become popular during the 1950s and 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. (Additionally, a song that explicitly chronicles the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, "If You Miss Me from the Back of the Bus", written by Charles Neblett of The Freedom Singers
, was sung to this tune and became one of the most well-known songs of that movement.)
The first recording of the song was by the Fisk Jubilee Singers
in 1915. The best known recordings were made by the vocal gospel group The Caravans
in 1958, with Inez Andrews
as the lead singer, and The Swan Silvertones in 1959. "Mary Don't You Weep" became The Swan Silvertones' greatest hit, and lead singer Claude Jeter
's interpolation "I'll be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name" served as Paul Simon
's inspiration to write his 1970 song "Bridge over Troubled Water
". The spiritual's lyric God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water the fire next time inspired the title for The Fire Next Time
, James Baldwin
's 1963 account of race relations in America.
Many other recordings have been made, by artists ranging from The Soul Stirrers
to Burl Ives
. Pete Seeger
gave it additional folk music
visibility by performing it at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival
, and played it many times throughout his career, adapting the lyrics and stating the song's relevance as an American song, not just a spiritual. In the 1960s, Jamaican artist Justin Hinds
had a ska hit with "Jump Out Of The Frying Pan", whose lyrics borrowed heavily from the spiritual. Aretha Franklin
recorded a live version of the song for her 1972 album Amazing Grace
. An a cappella
version by Take 6
, simply called "Mary", received wide airplay after appearing on the group's eponymous debut album
in 1988. The song is sung briefly at the beginning of the music video for Bone Thugs N Harmony's 1996 "Tha Crossroads
". In a pounding big group folk arrangement, it was one of the highlights of the 2006 Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour
. The song also appeared on Mike Farris
' 2007 album Salvation in Lights. Entitled as "Don't You Weep, Mary", this song is on The Kingston Trio
compact disc Two Classic Albums.
There was also an adaptation of this song recorded in the Greek language
. The title was "Mairi Mi Lypasai Pia", and was written and recorded by the Greek songwriter, Manos Xydous, on his 2010 album Otan tha fygo ena vrady apo 'do as well as on the collection Epityhies 2011.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
– thus it is what scholars call a "slave song," "a label that describes their origins among the enslaved," and it contains "coded messages of hope and resistance." It is one of the most important of Negro spirituals.
The song tells the Biblical story of Mary of Bethany and her distraught pleas to Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
to raise her brother Lazarus
Lazarus of Bethany
Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days, is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death...
from the dead. Other narratives relate to The Exodus
The Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
and the Passage of the Red Sea
Passage of the Red Sea
The Crossing of the Red Sea is a passage in the Biblical narrative of the escape of the Israelites from the pursuing Egyptians in the Book of Exodus . This story is also mentioned in the Qur'an in Surah 26: Al-Shu'ara' in verses 60-67...
, with the chorus proclaiming Pharaoh's army got drown-ded!, and to God's rainbow covenant to Noah after the Great Flood. With liberation thus one of its themes, the song again become popular during the 1950s and 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. (Additionally, a song that explicitly chronicles the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, "If You Miss Me from the Back of the Bus", written by Charles Neblett of The Freedom Singers
The Freedom Singers
The Freedom Singers is a band that was founded in 1962 by Cordell Reagon, Bernice Johnson , Matthew Jones, Charles Neblett and Rutha Mae Harris ....
, was sung to this tune and became one of the most well-known songs of that movement.)
The first recording of the song was by the Fisk Jubilee Singers
Fisk Jubilee Singers
The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for their college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditional spirituals, but included some Stephen Foster songs...
in 1915. The best known recordings were made by the vocal gospel group The Caravans
The Caravans
The Caravans is a Jubilee Gospel group that was started by Albertina Walker . The group reached its peak popularity during the 1950s and 1960s, launching the careers of a number of artists, including: Delores Washington, Albertina Walker, Bessie Griffin, Cassietta George, Dorothy Norwood, Inez...
in 1958, with Inez Andrews
Inez Andrews
Inez Andrews is an American gospel singer and recording artist.-Biography:In 1957, Andrews became a member of the gospel group The Caravans; she auditioned for Albertina Walker and Dorothy Norwood, and they sent for her in Chicago...
as the lead singer, and The Swan Silvertones in 1959. "Mary Don't You Weep" became The Swan Silvertones' greatest hit, and lead singer Claude Jeter
Claude Jeter
Claude A. Jeter was an African American gospel music singer. Originally a coal miner from Kentucky, Jeter formed the group that would eventually become one of the most popular gospel quartets of the post-war era – the Swan Silvertones...
's interpolation "I'll be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name" served as Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's inspiration to write his 1970 song "Bridge over Troubled Water
Bridge over Troubled Water (song)
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" is the title song of Simon & Garfunkel's album of the same name. The single was released on January 26, 1970, though it also appears on the live album Live 1969, released in 2008. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970, and stayed at...
". The spiritual's lyric God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water the fire next time inspired the title for The Fire Next Time
The Fire Next Time
The Fire Next Time is a book by James Baldwin. It contains two essays: "My Dungeon Shook — Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation," and "Down At The Cross — Letter from a Region of My Mind." The first essay, written in the form of a letter to Baldwin's...
, James Baldwin
James Baldwin (writer)
James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
's 1963 account of race relations in America.
Many other recordings have been made, by artists ranging from The Soul Stirrers
The Soul Stirrers
One of the most popular and influential gospel groups of the 20th century, the Soul Stirrers were pioneers in the development of the quartet style of gospel and, without intending it, in the creation of soul music, doo wop, and motown sound, some of the secular music that owed much to gospel.The...
to Burl Ives
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
. Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
gave it additional folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
visibility by performing it at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
, and played it many times throughout his career, adapting the lyrics and stating the song's relevance as an American song, not just a spiritual. In the 1960s, Jamaican artist Justin Hinds
Justin Hinds
Justin Hinds was a Jamaican ska vocalist, with his backing singers the Dominoes.He is best known for his work with Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Records, where his most notable song, "Carry Go Bring Come" recorded in late 1963, went to number one in Jamaica...
had a ska hit with "Jump Out Of The Frying Pan", whose lyrics borrowed heavily from the spiritual. Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
recorded a live version of the song for her 1972 album Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace (Aretha Franklin album)
-Disc 1:#"Mary Don't You Weep" #"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" /"You've Got a Friend" / #"Old Landmark"#"Give Yourself to Jesus" #"How I Got Over"...
. An a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
version by Take 6
Take 6
Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group sings in a contemporary style, integrating R&B and jazz influences into their devotional songs and has 10 Grammy wins, 10 Dove Awards, one Soul Train Award and two...
, simply called "Mary", received wide airplay after appearing on the group's eponymous debut album
Take 6 (Take 6 album)
Take 6, released in 1988 on Warner Bros. Records, is the debut album by American contemporary Gospel music group Take 6. The album won the group their first two Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Soul Gospel Performance by a Duo, Group, Choir, or Chorus...
in 1988. The song is sung briefly at the beginning of the music video for Bone Thugs N Harmony's 1996 "Tha Crossroads
Tha Crossroads
"Tha Crossroads" is a Grammy Award–winning song performed by the hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, dedicated to the late rap icon Eazy-E and released in 1996...
". In a pounding big group folk arrangement, it was one of the highlights of the 2006 Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour
Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour
The Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour, afterward sometimes referred to simply as the Sessions Band Tour, was a 2006 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and The Sessions Band playing what was billed as "An all-new evening of gospel, folk, and blues," otherwise seen as a form...
. The song also appeared on Mike Farris
Mike Farris (musician)
Mike Farris is an American musician. He was the founder and lead singer of Nashville, Tennessee group Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies, but has been a solo act since 2001. He has put out 2 studio releases as well as a one live record as Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue as well as a charity EP...
' 2007 album Salvation in Lights. Entitled as "Don't You Weep, Mary", this song is on The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
compact disc Two Classic Albums.
There was also an adaptation of this song recorded in the Greek language
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
. The title was "Mairi Mi Lypasai Pia", and was written and recorded by the Greek songwriter, Manos Xydous, on his 2010 album Otan tha fygo ena vrady apo 'do as well as on the collection Epityhies 2011.