HISTORY

Down by the Riverside was a Negro Spiritual sung by enslaved people that were looking forward to a better life. The Library of Congress describes spirituals as describes spirituals as a type of religious folksong that is most closely associated with the enslavement of African people in the American South. The songs proliferated in the last few decades of the eighteenth century leading up to the abolishment of legalized slavery in the 1860s. The African American spiritual (also called the Negro Spiritual) constitutes one of the largest and most significant forms of American folksong.

Spirituals are typically sung in a call and response form, with a leader improvising a line of text and a chorus of singers providing a solid refrain in unison. The vocal style abounded in freeform slides, turns and rhythms that were challenging for early publishers of spirituals to document accurately. Many spirituals, known as "sorrow songs," are intense, slow and melancholic.  Songs like "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"  and "Nobody knows de trouble I've seen"  describe the slaves' struggles and identification with the suffering of Jesus Christ.  Other spirituals are more joyful.  Known as "jubilees," or "camp meeting songs," they are fast, rhythmic and often syncopated.  Examples include "Rocky my soul" and "Fare Ye Well."

SONGWRITING

Songs can be happy, sad, or anything in between. It depends on what is happening for the writer at the time. When writing songs, it is important to understand the context in which they are being written but knowing that context might change in the future.

Some songwriters, like Beyonce, believe it’s important for the song to be relevant no matter what. She told a UK radio station “I want to make sure years from now the song is still something that’s relevant.” Beyonce is a songwriter but often collaborates with other writers to create her songs. Others, like Stevie Wonder, write most of their own music and they do it often. Stevie once told a TV host this about constantly writing, “I can’t say that I’m always writing in my head, but I do spend a lot of time in my head writing and coming up with ideas. And what I do usually is write the music and melody and maybe the basic idea…”

(Reference: https://online.berklee.edu/takenote/songwriting-advice-10-grammy-nominated-songwriters/)

Fender, the leading guitar company in America, describes the parts of a song as:

Intro: found at the beginning and sets up the song, establishing many of the song's important elements, such as the key, tempo, rhythmic feel and even its energy and attitude.

Verse: find out what the story is about; multiple verses in a song, and they usually have different lyrics even though the melody will likely be the same; more information about the story with each additional verse

Pre-Chorus: not a necessary component; shorter than a verse or chorus; creates a feeling of wanting to be thrusted towards the chorus

Chorus: climax of the song; verse and pre-chorus have been reduced to a simple repeated sentiment; chorus is often the title of the song and is usually very similar each time it occurs

Bridge: a section that provides relief from the repetitive nature of many songs; different lyrics from the verse and chorus, but the music is a little different as well

Some songs also have outros or instrumental sections that end the song.

(Reference: https://www.fender.com/articles/play/parts-of-a-song-keep-it-straight)

EXAMPLE

The Mahalia Jackson version of Down by the Riverside starts with an instrumental intro then follows a verse-chorus form throughout.

Intro (musical introduction)

Verse
I'm gonna lay down my burden, down by the riverside
Down by the riverside, down by the riverside
I'm gonna lay down my burden, down by the riverside
I'm gonna study war no more

Chorus
I ain't a gonna study war no more, I ain't a gonna study war no more
I ain't a gonna study war no more, I ain't a gonna study war no more
I ain't a gonna study war no more, I ain't a gonna study war no more

Verse
Well, I'm gonna put on my long white robe, (Where?) down by the riverside (Oh)
Down by the riverside, down by the riverside
I'm gonna put on my long white robe, (Where?) down by the riverside
I'm gonna study war no more

Chorus
I ain't a gonna study war no more, I ain't a gonna study war no more
I ain't a gonna study war no more, I ain't a gonna study war no more
I ain't a gonna study war no more, I ain't a gonna study war no more

Verse
Well, I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield, (Where?) down by the riverside
Down by the riverside, down by the riverside
I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield, (A-ha) down by the riverside
I'm gonna study war no more

Chorus
I ain't a gonna study war no more, I ain't a gonna study war no more
I ain't a gonna study war no more, I ain't a gonna study war no more
I ain't a gonna study war no more, I ain't a gonna study war no more

QUIZ

Can you hear the different sections of this song by local musician Tyrone Cotton?