"Since I Laid My Burden Down" (also known as "When I Lay My Burden Down", "Glory, Glory", "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah", "Happy In Prison" and other titles) is an American spiritual song, which has been recorded by many artists in a variety of genres, including folk, country, blues, rock, and gospel.
Its origins are obscure, but it probably originated in the United States during the late 19th century.
In 1925 the song was published (as song # 66 on page 53) in the gospelbook "Saint Helena Island Spirituals", compiled by Nicholas George Julius Ballanta-Taylor
Published by G. Schirmer, Inc. New York.
In 1926 the song was published as "When I Lay My Burden Down" and "Since I Laid My Burden Down" in Howard Odum's "Negro Workaday Songs".
The melody for this number (a fixture at New Orleans "jazz" funerals) is the same tune used for "Will the Circle Be Unbroken".
Two songs concerning death/funerals, one most common in white communities, the other among black folks, each with its own traditional instrumentation and arrangements ~ same tune.
The first known recording I could find:
(o) Ernest Phipps And His Holiness Quartet (1927) (as "Happy In Prison")
Recorded July 26, 1927 in Bristol, TN
Released on Victor 21192
Listen here:
(c) Elders McIntorsh and Edwards Sanctified Singers (1928) (as "Since I Laid My Burden Down")
Recorded December 4, 1928 in Chicago,
Released on Okeh 8698
Listen here:
This Memphis-based group was led by two of the elders of the
Church of God in Christ, Lonnie McIntorsh (who also recorded on his own) and
Edwards (about whom little is known). On this record they are joined by church
members Bessie Johnson and Melinda Taylor. The lyrics are little more than a
single phrase repeated over and over, but the quartet sings it with increasing
passion and zeal, adding moans, hoots and hollers (“Glory!”) that make the
record absolutely compelling.
(c) Blind Roosevelt Graves (1929) (as "When I Lay My Burdens Down")
Blind Roosevelt Graves:Vocals & Guitar; Uaroy Graves:Vocals &
Tamborine
Probably "Baby" Jay James:Cornet; Will Ezell:Piano
Recorded September 20, 1929 in Richmond, IN
Released on Paramount 12974
Listen here:
(c) Guitar Evangelist (Rev. Edward Clayborn) (as "When I Lay My Burden Down")
Recorded October 11, 1929 in Chicago
Released on Vocalion 1458
Listen here:
(c) Bessemer Sunset Four (1930) (as "When I Lay My Burden Down")
Recorded March 20, 1930 in Atlanta
Released on Vocalion 1488
Listen here:
(c) McCollum's Sanctified Singers (1930) (as "Glory Glory Hallelujah")
Recorded June 1930 in Chicago
Released on Vocalion 1591
Listen here:
In 1935 The Carter Family had recorded "Can The Circle Be Unbroken", which was AP Carter's "arrangement" of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken". But in fact AP cleverly combined the "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" lyrics with the "Happy in Prison"/ "Since I Laid My Burden Down" tune.
Pleading guilty, 3 years later, the Carters also recorded "Happy In The Prison" (still crediting AP)
(c) Carter Family (1938) (as "Happy In The Prison")
Recorded June 8, 1938 in Charlotte, NC
Released on Decca 5579
Listen here:
(c) Plantation Singers (1939) (as "Glory Glory Hallelujah")
Recorded
December 1939
Released on the Varsity-label (6023)
http://www.discogs.com/Plantation-Singers-Glory-Glory-Hallelujah-I-Wanna-Go-To-Heavn/release/4366208
Listen here:
In 1940 Roy
Acuff recorded "When I Lay My Burden Down" on the B-side of a song which had
almost the same melody: "Will The Circle Be Unbroken". As if to show to AP Carter
where he got the melody for "Will The Circle Be Unbroken".
(c) Roy Acuff
& his Smoky Mountain Boys (1940) (as "When I Lay My Burden Down")
Lonnie Wilson [gt], Brother Oswald Kirby [dobro/vcl], Rachel Veach [banjo/vcl], Jess Easterday [bass].
Recorded April 11, 1940
Saginaw, TX
Matrix DAL 945-1 WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN
Okeh 05587
Matrix DAL 947-1 WHEN I LAY MY BURDEN DOWN Okeh 05587
Listen here:
(c) Turner Junior Johnson (1942) (as "When I Lay My Burden Down")
Recorded By Alan Lomax for the Libray Of
Congress on July 19, 1942 in Clarksdale, MS
Listen here:
(c) The Soul Stirrers (1949) (as "Glory Glory")
Recorded December 21, 1948 in Chicago .
Released on Aladdin 2027
Listen here:
(c) The Golden Echoes (1949) (as "When I Laid My Burden Down")
Recorded April 5, 1949 in Hollywood
Released on the B-side of Specialty 331
Listen here:
Or here:
(c) Maddox Brothers and
Rose (1954) (as "Gonna Lay My Burden Down").
Recorded between 1946 and 1951 and mastered on August 26, 1954 in NYC
Released in
October 1954 on Decca 9-29279
Listen here:
(c) The Lapsey Band (1954) (as "When I Lay My Burden Down")
Recorded May 15, 1954 near Scotts Station,
Alabama
Released on the next Folkways album:
Listen here:
(c) Odetta (1956) (as "Glory, Glory")
Recorded September 1956 in San Francisco, CA
Released in 1956 on the album "Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues"
Listen here:
(c) Cat-Iron (=William
Carradine) (1958) (as "When I Lay My Burden Down")
Recorded 1957 in Natchez, Mississippi
Released 1958 the year William Carradine
(Cat-Iron) actually laid his burden down.
This is his first and only recording on Folkways FA
2389
Listen here:
(c) John Fahey (1960) (as "Lay My Burden Down")
Recorded April 15, 1960 in Fredrick, Maryland
Released on the Fonotone 612
On this
release he used the Blind Thomas moniker.
Listen here:
(c) Joey Dee & The Starliters (1962) (as "Roly Poly")
"Glory Glory" was refashioned by Joey Dee & The Starliters into the thinly disguised "Roly Poly" in 1962 released on the Roulette record label.
Listen here:
(c) The Big 3 (1964) (as "Glory,
Glory")
Recorded March 1964 at the Gotham Studios in New York.
Released on the album: "Live at the Recording Studio"
Listen here:
Or here:
(c) Art Reynolds Singers (1966) (as "Glory, Glory Hallelujah")
Released on the album "Tellin' It Like It
Is".
This version most likely served as a blueprint for the 1970 version by The Byrds (who had also covered another song ("Jesus Is Just Allright") from the "Tellin' It Like It Is" album).
Listen here:
(c) Mississippi John Hurt (1967) (as "Since I've Laid My Burden Down")
Recorded July 1964 in New York.
Released in
1967 on the "Immortal" album on the Vanguard-Label.
Listen here:
(c) Staple
Singers (1967) (as "Glory, Glory Hallelujah")
Recorded Autumn 1966.
Released on the album "Pray On".
Listen here:
(c) Fred McDowell (as "When
I Lay My Burden Down")
Recorded February, 1969 at Fred McDowell's home, Como, Mississippi
(c) Furry Lewis (as "When I Lay My Burden Down")
Recorded November, 1968 at Walter "Furry" Lewis' home,
Memphis, Tennessee, .
Fred McDowell and Furry Lewis versions
where both released on the next Biograph album
"When I Lay My Burden Down" recorded by Robert Wilkins in 1960, was released as a bonus-track on the 1994 CD-version of that Biograph-album
Listen here:
The Byrds recorded a version as "Glory, Glory"
crediting Art Reynolds of whom they had covered "Jesus Is Just Allright" the
previous year.
(c) The Byrds (1971) (as "Glory, Glory")
Recorded January 17, 1971.
Released on Columbia 4-45440.
Listen here:
In 1973 Don Nix
recorded a version of "When I Lay My Burden Down" with Furry Lewis.
Their
version was dedicated to Fred McDowell, who had passed away in 1972.
(c) Don Nix (1973) (as "When I Lay My Burden Down")
Relaesed October 1973 on the next 45:
Listen here:
(c) Ike and Tina
Turner (1974) (as "Glory, Glory")
Listen here:
(c) Victoria
Williams (2001) (as "Since I've Laid My Burden Down")
Released on the album:
"Avalon Blues: A Tribute to the Music of Mississippi John Hurt"
Here's Victoria live in Chiari, Italy in 2001
(c) Jessie
Mae Hemphill and Friends (2004) (as "Lay My Burden Down")
Released on the album "Dare You to Do It Again" on the 219 Records label.
Listen here:
(c) Dr. John (2004) (as "Lay My Burden Down")
with Mavis Staples and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
Released on the album "N'Awlinz Dis,
Dat, or D'Udda" on the Blue Note label.
Listen here:
(c) Dave Matthews (2005) (as "Glory Glory Hallelujah")
Dave sang it at he end of the movie "Because of Winn-Dixie".
Though it didn't end up on the soundtrack of the movie
Listen here:
(c) Bobby McFerrin (2013) (as "Glory")
Listen here:
And here are a few amazing videos:
(c) Mississippi Fred McDowell (as "When I Lay My Burden
Down")
(c) Furry Lewis playing "When I Lay My Burden Down".
From the french film "Le Blues Entre Les Dents" (1973)
More versions here:
NOT TO BE CONFUSED with another Original: "Say Brothers Will You Meet Us / Battle Hymn Of The Republic / John Brown's Body (sometimes called "Glory Glory Hallelujah")
As I said in the beginning of this post, "Since I Laid My Burden Down" uses the same melody as most versions of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken"
But which song was the first one to use that common tune.
As we can hear in William McEwan's 1912 version of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", in the link above, that version uses a slightly different melody-line.
Around 1928 a version of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken"and "Since I Laid My Burden Down" use the same tune.
And there's yet another gospelsong, which uses this same melody: "I'm Gonna Live So God Can Use Me". SEE: Joop's Musical Flowers: I'm Gonna Live So God Can Use Me (1928)
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