It’s got spirit, and you cannot help feeling the energy and clapping in time with this one. Who’s responsible for generating the old spiritual “Said I Wasn’t”? Frankly, perhaps no one can say, but it might be a pretty good bet that a group like the Fisk Jubilee Singers (see this 1875 photo of the group) sang this popular song to lift worship and spur audience participation in a celebratory style. They made what are commonly known as the negro spirituals popular in the 19th Century. But, they were really just helping perpetuate what had already been true for two or three millennia, in a land far from the Nashville, Tennessee area that was home to the Fisk group. The spirit they brought to the gospel music scene is still alive in other groups and audiences that go to see them --- see the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and their rendition of “Said I Wasn’t” in the link below. It’s a spirit that says the joy He brings cannot be held inside a person…it just has to escape and infect others.
Whoever conceived the lyrics for ‘Said I Wasn’t’ was likely drawing upon any number of biblical scriptures, including one sung by Hebrews as they approached their worship day – Psalm 126:2-3 -- ‘Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.’ This anonymous poet was echoed by another unknown writer centuries later in ‘Said…’. Perhaps this later writer was also purposely drawing others into the song’s story, with a series of verbs to underline how the joyous message could be spread. If you’re good at ‘tell(ing)’ what the Lord has done, others can ‘sing’, ‘preach’, ‘shout’, and ‘pray’ about the same thing. And, that probably doesn’t exhaust the methods of dispatch for this ecstatic proclamation. As the writer has said – he ‘couldn’t keep it to myself’. Confident that his name was ‘on the roll’ as a ‘saved…soul’, he intended to keep proclaiming what he’d received. If the hearers did not actually witness the saving moment for the writer, they are invited to join in as if they had been – ‘You oughta been there’ – by joining in the crowd that’s already participating in what came to be known as the ‘solo call and union response’. One leads the song in a style that allows a group to reply in unison to the leader’s impassioned words with a similar verve. Would anything else but this method be appropriate for something called the Good News!
That’s enough words from this blogger about a nameless songwriter and the dynamic creation that has endured for who knows how long. You are invited to click on the links and read more yourself about this song genre’s background, and especially make use of the link to Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing ‘Said I Wasn’t’ below. Then, go do the same message spreading about which they sing!
See here for a good, energetic rendition of the song: Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody | Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir - YouTube
See here for description of this type of music, oftentimes called ‘Folk’ music: Folk music - Wikipedia
…also see Spirituals - Wikipedia
See this link for the photo and for public domain information about it: File:The Story of the Jubilee Singers.jpg - Wikimedia Commons …This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928.
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