Wade in the Water
| "Wade in the Water" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Language | English |
| Songwriter(s) | Traditional |
"Wade in the Water" (Roud 5439) is the name of a Negro spiritual first published in New Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers (1901) by John Wesley Work II and his brother, Frederick J. Work (see Fisk Jubilee Singers).
The main chorus is:
- Wade in the water.
- Wade in the water children.
- Wade in the water.
- God's gonna trouble the water.
The song relates to both the Old and New Testaments. The verses reflect the Israelites escape out of Egypt as found in Exodus:14.[1] The chorus refers to healing: see John 5:4, "For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had."
Many internet sources and popular books claim that songs such as "Wade in the Water" contained explicit instructions to fugitive slaves on how to avoid capture and the route to take to successfully make their way to freedom.[2] This particular song allegedly recommends leaving dry land and taking to the water as a strategy to throw pursuing bloodhounds off one's trail.
"Wade in the Water" was a popular instrumental hit in 1966 for the Ramsey Lewis Trio, which prompted further instrumental recordings by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and Billy Preston (both 1967). The melody was used for the 1988 Tony Toni Tone hit "Little Walter". The version by The Golden Gate Quartet also appears on the album Nick Cave - Roots & Collaborations (2009), establishing the song as one of the musical sources that have inspired the Australian artist.
"Wade in the Water, Children" is a 2008 American Documentary directed and produced by Elizabeth Wood and Gabriel Nussbaum. It was filmed by a group of 8th grade student at the first school to reopen in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The film offers a shockingly intimate look into life as a child in the ruined city. The film was praised as "Scalding Stuff" by Newsday, and won the audience award at the New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival. The film is now available from IndiePix Films and The Cinema Guild.
Selective list of recordings
- Sunset Four Jubilee Singers (Paramount 1923, 1925)
- The Golden Gate Quartet (1946)
- Odetta The Tin Angel (1954)
- The Folksmiths with Joe Hickerson (1958) Folkways F-2407
- Ella Jenkins and the Goodwill Spiritual Choir (1960)
- Bob Dylan Live 1961–2000: Thirty-Nine Years of Great Concert Performances (1961)
- Graham Bond (1965)
- Ramsey Lewis Trio (1966)
- Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass (1967)
- Billy Preston (1968)
- Big Mama Thornton (1968)
- Eva Cassidy (1997)
- Mary Mary Thankful (2000)
- J. Boykin (Jesus Loves Me) (2009)
- John Boutte, recorded for the film Wade in the Water, Children (see above)
- Patty Griffin Downtown Church (2010)
In popular culture
'Wade in the Water' is featured in a number of episodes from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, some of which include, but are not limited to;
- The song is twice heard in the fourth episode of the first season (Not with My Pig, You Don't).
- The seventeenth episode of the first season (The Ethnic Trip) - explains the meaning and the history of the song, and (as above) tells that it secretly contained explicit instructions to fugitive slaves on how to avoid capture and the route to take to successfully make their way to freedom by recommending the ex-slave to leave dry land and to take to the water as a strategy to throw pursuing bloodhounds off their trail.
References
- ^ "Wade in De Water". Retrieved January 11, 2008.
- ^ Coded Slave Songs
Sources
- Waltz, Robert B; David G. Engle. "Wade In The Water". The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World. Hosted by California State University, Fresno, Folklore, 2007.