Down In The River To Pray - dwCrooner (country gospel songs, Negro spiritual music)

Traditional American Gospel Music: "Down In The River To Pray" is thought to be a Negro spiritual song that was originally titled "Down In The Valley To Pray". Although documents of its composition are non-existent, it is believed to have been composed by African slaves in America before President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, before the US Civil War, and supposedly sometime during the early part of the nineteenth century.

The transition from its origins infers that this old gospel song was later adopted by the white Appalachian mountain range settlers where it apparently acquired it's now famous Country Gospel - Blue Grass sounding character. During that period it was known as one of the church camp meeting sing-along songs that was traditionally sang around campfires before bedtime. Subsequently, it may have been further adapted by the "Southern Baptist" congregations (the predominant denomination in the American deep south "bible belt") with the substitution of the word "valley" for their preferred term "river". I personally tend to believe that this was the case and in my opinion that change was merely a reflection of the Baptists' greatly held significance of the act of baptism by water that distinguishes the Baptist denomination from other Protestant denominations. Over the years the term "river" seems to have prevailed because modernly, few prominent recordings of the song with the term "valley" exist. Some notable exceptions are versions from "Doc Watson", "Earl Scruggs", "Arlo Guthrie", and "Ricky Skaggs". For reference purposes, this song is AKA "Down To The River To Pray" or "Down By The River To Pray".

Modernly, most people first heard "Down In The River To Pray" when it was featured with a sound track of "Alison Krauss" singing it in the motion picture "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" starring "George Clooney", "John Turturro", "Tim Blake Nelson", "John Goodman", "Holly Hunter", and "Charles Durning". The time period in the movie is set in 1937 rural Mississippi during the Great Depression in America - and perhaps near the height of Gospel Music's popularity in terms of the percentage of people in the USA who were readily buying Gospel song records.

Since the new millennium "Down In The River To Pray" has become a recognizable song internationally. This is partly due to the song's interesting history and presumed authenticity as an original song of the slaves. But, probably even more so because of the extensive sales of the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" movie soundtrack released on December 22, 2000 that created a world-wide interest in vintage American Blue Grass style Country Gospel music.

This is the dwCrooner cover of "Down In The River To Pray". Every dwCrooner music video can be viewed for free at YouTube.

One more thing -- when I'm singing "O sinners let's go down, let's go down, just come on down. O sinners let's go down, down in the river to pray." - I'm referencing both ME and YOU. Romans 3:10 "As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one;" Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." So, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, please remember to pray for me, too.
Additional references: MLK day, Martin Luther King day, Martin Luther King holiday. "O-town Rheydt"

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Alison Krauss
• Robert Plant
• T-Bone Burnett
• Soggy Bottom Boys
• O Brother Where Art Thou?
• Down In The River To Pray
• Down To The River To Pray
• Down In The Valley To Pray
• Hayley Westenra
• Katherine Jenkins
• King's Singers
• Keanettes
• Selah
• Iris Dement
• Boondock Saints
• St. Augustine Singers
• Ardèche
• baudelaire
• Izvor
• Bukit Arang
• Chaverim
• dwCrooner

[annicamille]

Black or white his voice is awesome

[robotodelinferno]

if only he was black, it will be more beatiful, and im not racist, Im latino so i haven't right to discriminate, but I really like that feligreses songs

[lovegermanshepherds]

Fantastic

Cheyenne