In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

Woke Up This Morning

Music by Robert Wesby

"Woke Up This Morning" is a freedom song made as a revamp of the old gospel song "I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus" in the 1960s. It is one of many similar songs during the civil rights movement. Reverend Wesby of Aurora, Illinois, created this revamp of an old gospel song "I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus" while spending time in Hinds County jail during the freedom rides. The song spread and became part of the civil rights movement as did many others during the time, this song being one of the more notable pieces. The song has been printed more recently by Pete Seeger in his book Everybody Says Freedom. Songs such as these were used as a means of protest propaganda, uniting together those with causes to demonstrate for. This song falls under the folk music genre, which was popular in the 1930s and 1940s but lost momentum. The genre was revived in the 1960s during the civil rights movement. Music and singing were an integral part of the movement, many of them being adapted from earlier religious songs.

Woke Up This Morning

This traditional freedom song gained special significance during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and maintains its importance still. This setting, arranged for the Yale Glee Club, is strong and deliberate with a declarative text and a Hallelujah at the end of the verse that repeats and builds with joyful intensity.

Voicing: SATB

Songbooks, Arrangements and/or Media

Displaying 1-3 of 3 items.

Anna Laura Page and Jean Anne Shafferman : My First Spirituals

My First Spirituals offers 12 delightful songs featuring 14 traditional spirituals with actions and activities for young children, ages 3-8. Here are some of the most beloved spirituals of all time, arranged for unison voices with keyboard and/or guitar accompaniment. Great for children's choir, Sunday school, Christian school, vacation Bible school or summer camp! Your children will love singing them both as informal "fun songs" and in worship or chapel throughout the year! Reproducible lyric/coloring sheets included.

Songlist: Teaching Suggestions & Scripture Focus, Chatter with the Angels, Kum Ba Yah / Let Us Break Brea, Who Built the Ark?, All Night, All Day, Woke Up This Morning, I Got Shoes, Guide My Feet, Over My Head, Mary Had a Baby, I've Just Come from the Fountain, We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder, Do, Lord / Rise and Shine

B.B. King : The Best of B.B. King

Two dozen of B.B.'s bluesy best! Includes: Ask Me No Questions - Everyday I Have the Blues - I Need You So Bad - Paying the Cost to Be the Boss - Riding with the King - The Thrill Is Gone - Woke up This Morning - You Upset Me Baby - and more.

Songlist: Chains And Things, Nobody Loves Me But My Mother, Please Accept My Love, Sweet Sixteen, You Upset Me Baby, Woke Up This Morning, Ain't Nobody Home, I Need You So Bad, Beautician Blues, Hummingbird, How Blue Can You Get, Ask Me No Questions, Cryin' Won't Help You, Every Day I Have The Blues, Gambler's Blues, Help The Poor, Paying The Cost To Be The Boss, Rock Me Baby, Sweet Little Angel, The Thrill Is Gone, Why I Sing The Blues, Riding With The King, Be Careful With A Fool, Three O'Clock Blues

Five Delights : Best of The Bronx

One of the early mixed groups (two Blacks, a Jew, a Pole and a Puerto Rican), the 5 Delights had a couple of hit singles in the late 1950's. This recording was made in a basement with one monaural mike in 1960 'while the guys passed around a bottle of J &B,' according to the legend. Drawing material from a variety of sources, the group compiled a diverse set list: 'Begin the Beguine,' 'You Send Me,' 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes' and 'I'm In The Mood For Love' are highlights. Some tunes, such as 'Whatcha Gonna Do,' have a gospel feel; 'Dearest Darling' is a smooth slow dance number.

Songlist: Woke Up This Morning, I'm In The Mood For Love, Begin the Beguine, There'll Be No Goodbye, Whatcah Gonna Do, Dearest Darling, I'll Never Smile Again, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, At Night, Milky White Way, I Believe, Through The Years, Close Your Eyes, You Send Me, Ebb Tide

Individual Folios

Displaying 1-2 of 2 items.