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I'm Gwine Home on de Mornin' Train

I’m Gwine Home on de Mornin’ Train is part of the John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip collection at the Library of Congress. John Lomax was a folklorist and musicologist who traveled throughout the U.S. making field recordings of American folk music. In 1939, he and his wife, Ruby Lomax, made such a trip through the southern states and recorded more than 300 performers, representing a diverse array of traditional musical styles, including ballads, blues, children’s songs, cowboy songs, fiddle tunes, field hollers, lullabies, play-party songs, religious dramas, spirituals, and work songs. I’m Gwine Home on de Mornin’ Train is a folk spiritual, part of an African American song tradition that arose during slavery. Spirituals were created by slaves using elements of African music such as clapping, drumming, repetition of lyrics, and call-and-response to express their religion and their experiences as slaves.

Audio File: 

I'm Gwine Home on de Mornin' Train by LEARN NC

Duration: 
2:00
Transcript: 

Audio Transcript

I’m goin’ home on the morning train
Well I’m goin’ home on the morning train
I’m goin’ home on the morning train
If you don’t see me you can hear me singing
All of my sins been taken away, taken away

Sister Mary wore three lengths of chain
Sister Mary she wore three lengths of chain
Sister Mary she wore three lengths of chain
Every length was Jesus’ name
All of my sins been taken away, taken away

The tallest tree in paradise
Tallest tree in paradise
Tallest tree in paradise
The Christians call it the tree of life,
All of my sins been taken away, taken away

Jordan deep, and Jordan wide
Jordan deep, and Jordan wide
Jordan deep, and Jordan wide
Chill my body but not my soul
All of my sins been taken away, taken away

Usage Statement: 

Public Domain

Public Domain is a copyright term that is often used when talking about copyright for creative works. Under U.S. copyright law, individual items that are in the public domain are items that are no longer protected by copyright law. This means that you do not need to request permission to re-use, re-publish or even change a copy of the item. Items enter the public domain under U.S. copyright law for a number of reasons: the original copyright may have expired; the item was created by the U.S. Federal Government or other governmental entity that views the things it creates as in the public domain; the work was never protected by copyright for some other reason related to how it was produced (for example, it was a speech that wasn't written down or recorded); or the work doesn't have enough originality to make it eligible for copyright protection.