“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10
Isaiah 41:10
By Shannon Pederson
Our wonderful bell choir performed the song “Kumbaya” recently, and I’m sure it brought back memories for many of us who heard them.
The word "kumbaya" is believed by many music historians to be pidgin English for the prayerful plea to God: "Come by Here." It is a spiritual song first recorded in the 1920s, becoming a standard campfire song in Bible and Scouting camps and enjoyed a broader popularity during the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s.
The song was originally a simple appeal to God to come and help those in need. According to the Library of Congress, the two oldest versions whose year of origin can be confirmed were both collected in 1926.
The lyrics are simple and innocent: Someone's singing, Lord, kumbaya. Or Someone's crying, Lord, kumbaya. Or Someone's praying Lord, kumbaya.
Regardless of the song’s fluctuating connotations, one question has long fascinated scholars: what was the first “Kumbaya moment?” In other words, where and when does the song come from? The song’s early history is very well documented in the American Folklore Archive at the Library of Congress.
The most common claim made today about the origins of “Kumbaya” is that it is from the Gullah-Geechee people of coastal Georgia and South Carolina. The Gullah are the islanders of South Carolina and the Geechee are the islanders of Georgia. They are the descendants of enslaved Africans. A Gullah-Geechee origin is certainly possible, and is closer to the truth than any other previous theories.
In its heyday, from the 1950s through the 1990s, the song was recorded by dozens of U. S. artists, including Joan Baez, the Weavers, Odetta, Pete Seeger, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Nanci Griffith, Raffi, and many others around the world. And, musically, it came to be thought of as a children’s campfire song. However, the song’s name has more recently been used in the American language to mean “ignore our differences and get along.” A “kumbaya moment” is considered an event at which naïve bonding occurs.
To sing “Kumbaya” is to plead with God to bear witness to the world’s suffering and to deliver us from it.
It’s time we recover the song’s original meaning. Let us sing “Kumbaya” in our church congregations and in our private lives of worship, remembering the tragedy, slavery, out of which its words were born but also the promise that they’re rooted in: that “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth” (from Psalm 145:18).
Our wonderful bell choir performed the song “Kumbaya” recently, and I’m sure it brought back memories for many of us who heard them.
The word "kumbaya" is believed by many music historians to be pidgin English for the prayerful plea to God: "Come by Here." It is a spiritual song first recorded in the 1920s, becoming a standard campfire song in Bible and Scouting camps and enjoyed a broader popularity during the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s.
The song was originally a simple appeal to God to come and help those in need. According to the Library of Congress, the two oldest versions whose year of origin can be confirmed were both collected in 1926.
The lyrics are simple and innocent: Someone's singing, Lord, kumbaya. Or Someone's crying, Lord, kumbaya. Or Someone's praying Lord, kumbaya.
Regardless of the song’s fluctuating connotations, one question has long fascinated scholars: what was the first “Kumbaya moment?” In other words, where and when does the song come from? The song’s early history is very well documented in the American Folklore Archive at the Library of Congress.
The most common claim made today about the origins of “Kumbaya” is that it is from the Gullah-Geechee people of coastal Georgia and South Carolina. The Gullah are the islanders of South Carolina and the Geechee are the islanders of Georgia. They are the descendants of enslaved Africans. A Gullah-Geechee origin is certainly possible, and is closer to the truth than any other previous theories.
In its heyday, from the 1950s through the 1990s, the song was recorded by dozens of U. S. artists, including Joan Baez, the Weavers, Odetta, Pete Seeger, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Nanci Griffith, Raffi, and many others around the world. And, musically, it came to be thought of as a children’s campfire song. However, the song’s name has more recently been used in the American language to mean “ignore our differences and get along.” A “kumbaya moment” is considered an event at which naïve bonding occurs.
To sing “Kumbaya” is to plead with God to bear witness to the world’s suffering and to deliver us from it.
It’s time we recover the song’s original meaning. Let us sing “Kumbaya” in our church congregations and in our private lives of worship, remembering the tragedy, slavery, out of which its words were born but also the promise that they’re rooted in: that “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth” (from Psalm 145:18).
Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbaya
Someone's singing Lord, kumbaya
Someone's singing Lord, kumbaya
Someone's singing Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbaya
Someone's laughing, Lord, kumbaya
Someone's laughing, Lord, kumbaya
Someone's laughing, Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbaya
Someone's crying, Lord, kumbaya
Someone's crying, Lord, kumbaya
Someone's crying, Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbaya
Someone's praying, Lord, kumbaya
Someone's praying, Lord, kumbaya
Someone's praying, Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbaya
Someone's sleeping, Lord, kumbaya
Someone's sleeping, Lord, kumbaya
Someone's sleeping, Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbaya
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4