I Am a Pilgrim And Also A Wayfaring Stranger
It’s no secret that music has been used to help religious folk express their beliefs and hand down stories of their deities. Musical instruments litter the mythologies of ancient Greece and ancient Egypt, both of which participated in the practice of writing and performing hymns. Put simply, a hymn is a song venerating a deity. But their presence in Judeo-Christian American music serves a larger purpose than just showing one's devotion to god. Two particular hymns, “Going Over Jordan” and“I’m a Pilgrim” have become intertwined over the past century and speak of a distinct message; heaven is open to all who chose to find it.
In 1858 the Printing Establishment of the United Brethren in Christ based in Dayton, Ohio published The Christian Songster, a collection of almost 200 hymns. Among these included “Going Over Jordan” and “I’m a Pilgrim”. Both start with almost the same phrase “I am a pilgrim, and a stranger” and “I’m a pilgrim, and I’m a stranger” respectively. Both hymns are listed to be in the same meter and both tell almost identical stories. However, there are slight differences in tone that make significant adjustments to the contexts of these pieces. As these pieces both found their way into the American Folk repertoire, they have morphed into clear and distinct songs, but interestingly with a more unified message.
In the original hymn, both “I’m a Pilgrim” and “Going Over Jordan” speak about a “stranger” (who is simply a person outside of the Judeo-Christian faith) who is making a pilgrimage to the River Jordan to find salvation and reach heaven. Heaven in both hymns is described specifically as a place that is free of sorrow, tears, and death. Both hymns are in the first person, though it appears that the narrators are different. River Jordan’s narrator appears to be the last survivor of their family, as in each chorus the narrator shares a different family member they expect to see in heaven. In “I’m a Pilgrim”, the narrator is leaving their family behind, and scorn them for their decision; “Father, mother, sister and brother, If you will not journey with me, I must go, For if a vain hope, you still will cherish, I cannot linger, and with you perish.” While these differences in perspectives do not affect the overall message of either piece, their combined presence tells a third message; that one should make this pilgrimage whether or not your family has done the same.
The Christian songster only contains lyrical content, so it’s not clear how these two hymns would have differed musically, but as they were adopted by other artists they have become quite distinct. The first known recording of I am a pilgrim was released in July of 1924 by the Norfolk Jazz and Jubilee Quartet. This recording features an all-male acapella quartet singing quite jovially, with bassist Len Williams scatting improvised lines throughout the piece. In the 60 years since the publication of the original hymn, the lyrics are drastically different. It appears as though the Norfolk Jazz and Jubilee Quartet’s recording represents the inception of a split between “I’m a Pilgrim” the hymn meant for church, and “I’m a Pilgrim'' the song meant for entertainment. The most apparent difference in the lyrics is that all mention of the stranger damning their family for not making the pilgrimage with them is removed. Instead, it is replaced with the lyric “I've got a mother, sister and a brother | Who have gone this way before | I am determined to go and see them, good Lord | For they're on that other shore.” This variation is pretty substantial, it is closer to “Going over Jordan'', and it certainly matches the tone of the music much better as well. Another notable difference is the inclusion of a reference to Matthew 9:20-21, with the lyric “If I can just touch the hem of his garment, good Lord |Then I know he'd take me home.” The bible verse is about “a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years'' yearning to touch Jesus’s cloak to be healed. This inclusion shows a shift in tone towards the importance of Jesus and his miracles and is likely a reflection of the 1920’s movement towards Christian Fundamentalism.
In 1926 the first known recording of The Wayfaring Stranger (adapted from The River Of Jordan) was released by Vaughan’s Texas Quintet, led by James Vaughan. James Vaughan had established a publishing company in Tennessee and had sold music books for decades before recording any of the music. Vaughan also sponsored groups to tour and play his arrangements in southern churches. The recording features a piano and a lead voice, with the other singers joining in during the chorus. Again the lyrics are changed, though less drastically than in I’m a Pilgrim. The most notable addition is the line “I’m going there to meet my Saviour, Who shed His precious blood for me.” Once again a direct reference to Jesus Christ is brought into the text, with both songs changing to include this, it enforces the theory of this being a deliberate choice. The song plays out in a slow ¾ time in harmonic minor and plays out in strophic form with no variations. Each strophe ends with an authentic V7- i cadence on the tail end of the phrase “going over home.” The music frames the piece as a lament over one's own tertiary body, that they are aware they must give up to earn their spot in heaven. The function of the dominant resolving to the tonic helps push the listener to feel like they have arrived home, both in the metaphorical sense and the tonal sense.
Since the 20’s both songs have continued to cement their place in the American Folk canon. Recordings of I Am a Pilgrim have been released by countless artists including The Byrds, Willie Nelson, Merle Travis, The Kentucky Colonels, and Johnny Cash. Each of these recordings remains faithful to the lyrics and melody featured in The Norfolk Jazz and Jubilee Quartet’s rendition, as well as the upbeat, major tonality. Recordings of Wayfaring Stranger have also been released, with artists such as Jack White, Emmylou Harris, Eva Cassidy, and Ed Sheeran. Wayfaring Stranger has retained its original identity as represented in its first recording, though each of these artists has certainly found a way to make it their own.
In 2019, the film 1917 featured a scene of a lone British soldier singing Wayfaring Stranger to his platoon, and the main character takes a rare moment of rest to listen. There’s not quite enough information available to dispute whether or not this piece's presence in Europe at this time is historically accurate, but since the film was based in the same year that America had joined World War I, it’s certainly plausible. Applying this song's original meaning to the scene helps add another layer of complexity to it. In the film, the men are certainly not the first to die on the battlefield, and they are face-to-face with death, they sit in a large circle, and mourn their own deaths. They have no other choice than to charge the battlefield, and they must muster the strength to do so. To them, the promise of being united with brethren and lost family members in eternal bliss certainly would make it all worth it.
If there were a book for folk standards similar to what “The Real Book” is for Jazz musicians, both I Am a Pilgrim and Wayfaring stranger would both certainly be in it. Both songs are engaging, powerful, and catchy in their own rights. Being intertwined through the years has only helped solidify each song's own identity, and listening to them side-by-side helps us understand the core message of both better. It’s hard to see either song going away any time soon, especially with Country and bluegrass artists continuing the traditions as well as innovating. It will be interesting to see if there will be more adjustments to the lyrics as new artists with new perspectives get their hands on them.
Bibliography
Bever, Joseph. The Christian Songster: a Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Usually Sung at Camp, Prayer, and Social Meetings, and Revivals of Religion ; Designed for All Denominations. Printed at the Printing Establishment of the United Brethren in Christ, 1858.
Turner, Steve. Turn, Turn, Turn: Popular Songs and Music Inspired by the Bible. Worthy Publishing, 2018.
West, Carroll Van. “Vaughan, James D.” Tennessee Encyclopedia, Tennessee Historical Society, 1 Mar. 2018, tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/james-d-vaughan/.
“Stranger Definition and Meaning - Bible Dictionary.” Biblestudytools.com, www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/stranger/.
“Norfolk Jazz & Jubilee Quartet: Biography & History.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/norfolk-jazz-jubilee-quartet-mn0000455381.
[Traditional], et al. “Wayfaring Stranger.” Second Hand Songs - A Cover Songs Database, secondhandsongs.com/work/68472/versions#nav-entity.
[Traditional]. “I Am a Pilgrim.” Second Hand Songs - A Cover Songs Database, secondhandsongs.com/work/128081/all.
