Been in the Storm So Long

by Guy Carawan

Overview

Well-known amongst anthropologists and musicologists, St. John's Island, SC, is one of the oldest African-American communities in North America and, because of its isolation, has one of the best preserved "slave" cultures. While the status and validity of this last point are highly debatable, there is no denying that this selection of 1960s field recordings, put out by Smithsonian Folkways, is one of the most captivating albums ever released. More than just an album, it is a document of a community where music is as integral to life as the weather. The recordings trace the role of music through a number of areas in everyday life. In "Welcome Table & Prayer," a quiet, sweet female voice delivers a stream-of-consciousness prayer and thanksgiving that melismatically blends speech and song in a highly original way. This is followed by a performance of "Ezekial in the Valley," where a chorus is offset by clapped and stomped counter-rhythms. The lyrics of the title track, "Been in the Storm So Long," sums the experience of the island's community: "Oh Lord give me more time/I been in the storm so long." The album also contains several children's stories and games, including the ring-and-the-rosey haunt "Mr. Postman Die." The remainder of the songs range from the simply beautiful "Moon Light in Glory," the simply terrifying sermon "Reborn Again," and to the epiphanic harmonizing of "Down on Me." Literally, this is an album that could set the world on fire. ~ Brian Whitener

Product Details

Release Date:	07/13/1992
Label:	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074003121
Rank:	124726

Tracks

1. Remember Me
2. See God's Ark A-Moving
3. Ask the Watchman How Long
4. Meet Me in Galilee
5. Talking 'Bout a Good Time
6. That's All Right
7. Jesus Knows All About My Trouble
8. Esau Jenkins Talking
9. Lay Down Body
10. Welcome Table & Prayer
11. Ezekial on the Valley
12. Been in the Storm So Long
13. Jack and Mary and the Three Dogs
14. You Got to Move
15. Moon Light in Glory
16. Mary Rolled the Stone Away
17. Ezekial in the Valley
18. Down on Me
19. Reborn Again
20. Row Michael Row
21. Johnny Cuckoo
22. Old Lady From Booster
23. Shoo Turkey
24. Mr. Postman Die
25. Water My Flowers
26. Rabbit and Partridge
27. Improvised Blues
28. Jack & Mary and the Devil

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Guy Carawan   Primary Artist,Dulcimer,Guitar,Vocals,Banjo
Mary Pinckney   Primary Artist
Laura Rivers   Primary Artist
James Mackay   Primary Artist
Ruth Bligen   Primary Artist
Mary Pickney   Primary Artist
Janie Hunter   Primary Artist
Alice Wine   Primary Artist
Bertha Smith   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Mississippi Fred McDowell   Composer
Champion Jack Dupree   Composer
Gabriel Gordon   Composer