Joan Baez - All My Trials

During the social protest movements of the 1950s and 1960s "All My Trials" became a popular folk song . It is based on a Bahamian lullaby about a mother on her death bed, comforting her children, "Hush little baby, don't you cry. You know your mama's bound to die," because, as she explains, "All my trials, Lord, Soon be over." The underlying message - this too shall pass; that no matter how bleak the situation seemed, the struggle would "soon be over" - lifted this song to the status of an anthem and was recorded by many of the leading artists of the era. The song is usually classified as a spritual because of its biblical references and religious imagery.

Spadecaller's music video presents this classic folk tune with visuals that reference the events of Katrina, Darfur, and Iraq.

(LYRICS)

Hush little baby, don't you cry
You know your mama was born to die
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

The river of Jordan is muddy and cold
Well it chills the body but not the soul
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

I've got a little book with pages three
And every page spells liberty
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

Too late, my brothers
Too late, but never mind
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

If living were a thing that money could buy
Then the rich would live and the poor would die
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

There grows a tree in Paradise
And the pilgrims call it the Tree of Life
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

Too late, my brothers
Too late, but never mind
All my trials, Lord, soon be over
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Anti-War
• Peace
• spiritual
• Katrina
• Darfur
• Iraq

[CallMeGup]

Fantastic song

Thank you very much for sharing this with us

[denlibdut]

Absolutely thrilling! It brings me back to the 1950's when I first heard both Joan Baez and this song. I think back with fondness of the two live performances of JB I was fortunate enough to attend in those days. The song is greatly enhanced by these splendid visuals from the Spadecaller! Thank you.

[TheJrollino]

Joan's voice may very well be the purest one ever - to match her soul.

[HopeWithPandora]

I know I can be a little 'cheeky' at times ; ) ... but it is often just a release for the many things that both fill my heart with love... and also weigh it down.

This found me tonight... in deep retrospection... and gently eased me back to the present... as we all head into 2012. This was a very touching song. Thank-you so much.

[Grimmjow567]

@vicandmaes Oh please, you probably weren't even alive in the 60s, so how can you say something like that?

[Lizzardpeace]

All my Trials is the solo that i performed for the state solo contest this year( I earned a I+ !). But i don't think I can compare with the legend of Joan Baez. She has a beautiful voice.

[louisianawoman888]

So beautiful!

[pretongo]

Timeless, speechless...

[KrazyaEvil]

I am 21, and this is way before my time. But, I envy the people who lived to hear her sing in person. Then again, I am lucky to hear her in this beautiful audio version. Its so beautiful!

[flickmybikneed]

There will never be a voice to compare with the majesty of Joan Baez, loved her when I was a child growing up in CA and 50 years later she still brings chills to my skin ~

[PadreVideo7709]

It's interesting that a Paul McCartney cover of this song is a suggested related video. See, in a book on the stories behind Beatles songs, the author says this Joan Baez version inspired a "musical trick" in the Beatles' song, "I'll Get You," in which they shift from D to A minor in the middle of the word "pretend." Baez makes that shift repeatedly; at least one place where it's in the middle of a word is the word "paradise" at 3:09-3:11.

The book is "A Hard Day's Write," by Steve Turner