Songs that bring history to life | Rhiannon Giddens

(Sings)

Water

Boy

(Guitar strum)

where are you hidin'?

(Guitar strum)

If you don't come right here,

I'm gonna tell

your pa on you.

(Guitar strum)

There ain't no hammer --

(Guitar strum)

that's on this mountain

(Guitar strum)

That ring like mine, boy --

(Guitar strum)

that ring like mine.

(Guitar strum)

I'm gonna bust this rock, boy --

(Guitar strum)

from here to Macon.

(Guitar strum)

All the way to the jail, boy --

(Guitar strum)

all the way to the jail.

(Guitar strum)

You jack of diamonds --

(Music)

you jack of diamonds

I know you of old boy,

I know you of old.

You done robbed my pocket,

you done robbed my pocket

of silver and gold, boy,

of silver and gold.

Water Boy,

where are you hidin'?

If you don't come right here,

I'm gonna tell your pa on you.

There ain't no hammer

that's on this mountain

that ring like mine, boy,

that ring like mine.

I'm gonna bust this rock, boy,

from here to Macon.

All the way to the jail, boy,

all the way to the jail.

Water

Boy

(Guitar strum)

where are you hidin'?

(Guitar strum)

If you don't come right here,

if you don't come right here,

if you don't come right here,

I'm gonna tell

your pa

on you.

(Guitar strum)

(Applause)

Thank you.

That was a song based on numerous work songs,

and it was arranged by Odetta,

a hero of mine.

And this next song, well,

I do a lot of historical music,

starting with the Carolina Chocolate Drops

and continuing on in my solo endeavors.

And I believe that knowing your history as a musician

is super important --

it's important as a person,

it's important as a country,

it's important as a people.

So I read a lot about where the music comes from

and where this country comes from.

I've been reading a lot about the Civil War

and about slavery.

And it's really tough.

You know?

It's really tough reading.

And so as an artist, what I do with all that emotion,

reading these people's stories,

not just, "Oh, slavery was terrible."

Yes, it was.

But it's reading individual narratives of how it was for these people.

You know?

Then it's like, "Yeah, that could've been me."

And it is people now. You know?

So what you do with all that emotion

is you've got to do something with it.

As an artist, I write.

So I wrote a song based on some of those narratives that I read,

and it's called, "Come Love Come."

We're going to do it for you now.

(Claps)

(Sings) Come love come,

the road lies low,

the way is long and hard, I know.

Come love come,

the road lies free,

I'll wait for you in Tennessee.

(Music)

(Sings) When I was four,

my loving mam was cornered by the boss's man.

She turned her head and got struck down,

they buried her in the cold, cold ground.

Come love come,

the road lies low,

the way is long and hard, I know.

Come love come,

the road lies free,

I'll wait for you in Tennessee.

(Music)

When I was 12,

my father dear

was strong of arm and free of fear

until the day he raised his hand,

then he was sold to Alabama.

Come love come,

the road lies low,

the way is long and hard, I know.

Come love come,

the road lies free,

I'll wait for you in Tennessee.

(Music)

When I was 16, found my bloom

and found my man,

we jumped the broom.

We pledged each other the rest of our lives

and on Saturday nights we were man and wife.

Come love come,

the road lies low,

the way is long and hard, I know.

Come love come,

the road lies free,

I'll wait for you in Tennessee.

(Music)

When I was 18,

bugles called

and boys in blue came o'er the wall.

I took my chance and followed free,

they led the way to Tennessee.

Come love come,

the road lies low,

the way is long and hard, I know.

Come love come,

the road lies free,

I'll wait for you in Tennessee.

(Music)

Now here I sit in a tiny shack

with 13 others at my back.

I've sent you word,

so all I can do

is wait and wait and wait and wait

and wait

and wait for you.

Come love come,

the road lies low,

the way is long and hard, I know.

Come love come,

the road lies free,

I'll wait for you in Tennessee.

Come love come,

the road lies low,

the way is long and hard, I know.

Come love come,

the road lies free,

I'll wait for you in Tennessee.

Oh,

oh,

oh.

Whoa ... oh I'll wait for you.

I'll wait for you.

I'll wait for you

I'll wait for you.

(Applause)

Thank you.

So, with the dark you have to have the light.

And in the African-American community,

it's been the work of many hundreds of years

to find a way to lift ourselves up.

So I'm going to end with a couple of tunes from Sister Rosetta Tharpe,

one of the more influential American music figures

that most of you probably never heard of.

If you have, I'm so happy.

She's one of the innovators of rock 'n' roll guitar,

and one of the first crossover artists from gospel to secular.

She's an incredibly important figure,

and I'm going to talk about her whenever I can.

So these are a couple of her tunes.

And don't worry -- you're going to get your chance to sing.

(Music)

(Sings) Look down, look down

that lonesome road

before you travel on.

Look up, look up

and greet your maker,

for Gabriel blows his horn.

Weary totin' such a load,

goin' down that lonesome road.

Look down that lonesome road,

before you travel on.

Look down, look down

that lonesome road

before you travel on.

Look up, look up

and greet your maker,

for Gabriel blows his horn.

Weary totin' such a load,

goin' down that lonesome road.

Look down, look down, look down, look down

that lonesome road

before you travel on.

Up above my head

up above my head

I hear music in the air

music in the air.

Up above my head

up above my head

I hear music in the air

I hear music in the air.

Up above my head

up above my head

I hear music in the air

music in the air

and I really do believe

I really do believe

there's a Heaven somewhere.

Up above my head

up above my head

I hear singin' in the air

singin' in the air.

Up above my head

up above my head

I hear singin' in the air

I hear singin' in the air.

Up above my head

up above my head

I hear singin' in the air

singin' in the air

and I really do believe

I really do believe

there's a Heaven somewhere.

(Speaks) All right now, guitar man!

(Guitar music)

That's Hubby Jenkins, y'all.

(Sings) Up above my head

up above my head

I hear shoutin' in the air

shoutin' in the air.

Up above my head

up above my head

I hear shoutin' in the air

I hear shoutin' in the air.

Up above my head

up above my head

I hear shoutin' in the air, that's right,

and I really do believe I really do believe

there's a heaven somewhere.

(Speaks) All right now, give me some of that bass.

(Bass solo)

Yeah!

Woo!

Jason Sypher on the bass.

Jamie Dick on those drums.

All right now,

I'm running out of time.

So it's time for y'all to sing.

This is the call-and-response.

I call, you respond.

There are so many songs like this, y'all know how it goes, don't you?

You're going to sing along?

I said, are you going to sing along?

Audience members: Yes!

Rhiannon Giddens: Here we go!

(Sings) Up above my head

AM: up above my head

RG: music in the air

AM: music in the air.

RG: up above my head

AM: up above my head

RG: music in the air

AM: music in the air

RG: up above my head

AM: up above my head

RG: music in the air

AM: music in the air

RG: and I really do believe I really do believe

there's a heaven somewhere.

One more time!

Up above my head

AM: up above my head

RG: I hear music in the air

AM: music in the air.

RG: Up above my head

AM: up above my head

RG: I hear music in the air

AM: music in the air.

RG: Up above my head

AM: up above my head

RG: I hear music in the air

AM: music in the air

RG: and I really do believe I really do believe

there's a heaven somewhere.

I said I really do believe I really do believe

there's a heaven somewhere.

Heaven somewhere.

(Holds note)

(Applause and cheers)

(Music ends)

(Applause)