Bessie Jones - I'm A Rollin Through This Unfriendly World (African American Spiritual) with sound file and lyrics

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the African American Spiritual "I'm A Rollin Through This Unfriendly World" as sung by Bessie Jones.

The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer/s of this Spiritual and thanks to Bessie Jones for her musical legacy. Thanks to Alan Lomax for recording this song and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/06/two-examples-of-im-rollin-through.html for a pancocojams post that showcases two examples of "I'm A Rollin Through An Unfriendly World". The title for those versions use the word "an" instead of "this" and have different verses than the version that is sung by Bessie Jones.

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SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Bessie Jones - I'm A Rollin', I'm A Rollin' (Everybody's A Rolling Stone)



TheBWJohnson, Published on Jul 5, 2014

recorded at Alan Lomax's apartment, 3rd Street
10/12/1961

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LYRICS: I'M A ROLLIN
(African American Spiritual as sung by Bessie Jones)

Chorus
I'm a rollin', I'm a rollin'.
I'm a rollin' through this unfriendly world.
I'm a rollin', I'm a rollin',
Rollin' through this unfriendly world.

I'm a rollin', rollin', Lord.
I'm a rollin' through this unfriendly world.
I'm a rollin', rollin',
Rollin' through this unfriendly world.

Verse:
Every since I been newborn,
(Rollin' through this unfriendly world.)
Everybody's a rolling stone
(Rollin' through this unfriendly world).

Chorus
I'm a rollin', rollin'
Rollin' through this unfriendly world.
I'm a rollin', rollin'
Rollin' through this unfriendly world.

Ah just rollin', rollin', Lord.
Rollin' through this unfriendly world.
I'm a rollin', rollin'
Rollin' through this unfriendly world.

Verse:
Lord, every since I been redeemed,
(Just rollin through this unfriendly world).
I toss and I heard God's burnin steam.
(Rollin through this unfriendly world).

Just rollin, rollin, Lord
Rollin through this unfriendly world.
I'm a rollin, rollin
Rollin through this unfriendly world.

Verse:
Lord, a motherless child has a hard time.
(Just rolling through this unfriendly world.)
He's sometime up and sometime down.
(Rollin through this unfriendly world.)

Chorus:
Just keep rollin, rollin Lord
Rollin through this unfriendly world
I'm a rollin, rollin,
Rollin through this unfriendly world.

Verse:
Lord, father will do the best he can
(Rollin through this unfriendly world)
But yet poor father don't understand
(Just rollin through this unfriendly world.)

I'm Just rollin, rollin
keep rollin through this unfriendly world
I'm a rollin, rollin,
Rollin through this unfriendly world.

Verse
Lord, I'm sometimes up and sometimes down.
(Rollin through this unfriendly world)
But I know my soul is heaven bound.
(I'm rollin through this unfriendly world).

Chorus
I'm just rollin, rollin, Lord,
Rollin through this unfriendly world.
Just rollin, rollin
Rollin through this unfriendly world.

Rollin, keep rollin,
Rollin through this unfriendly world.
Rollin, keep rollin
Rollin through this unfriendly world.

This is the end of this rendition of this Spiritual, but in that recording Bessie Jones is heard saying "Um hum. Yes, I am."

-snip-
Transcribed by Azizi Powell from the recording.

I think the first word that Bessie Jones says in this recording is "It's" (meaning "This is how I sing this song)."

A transcription for Bessie Jones' recording of this song can be found at http://research.culturalequity.org/get-audio-detailed-recording.do?recordingId=23461. However, that transcription is inaccurate. I've tried to fully transcribe this recording.

My editorial notes about my transcription of Bessie Jone's version of "I'm A Rollin":
I placed the "Rollin through this unfriendly world" line from the refrain in parenthesis to indicate that this line is what a group sings after the soloist sings the preceding line.

Notice the slight differences in the words that are sung in the chorus. These changes reflect the fact that the lyrics -including verses, verse order, and chorus- of American Spirituals aren't fixed. That's the reason why I didn't number these verses.

The word "every" in the line "Lord, every since I been redeemed" means "ever".

I believe that the word "father" in these lyrics doesn't mean "God" (the Heavenly Father.)

With regard to the line "I toss and I heard God's burning steam", if that transcription is accurate, then I think that "I toss" means that "I tossed and turned" i.e. struggled trying to do God's will. The words "and I heard God's burning steam" may refer to hearing God's Holy Spirit (which is often described as Holy Fire.)

Additions and corrections to this transcription are welcome.
-snip-
Added June 12, 2017
I had initially transcribed a line i
The line "a motherless child has a hard time" was initially given as "a mother's child". My apologies for that mistaken transcription.

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Added June 11, 2017
I thought that the line "motherless child has a hard time" sounded like a floater (a lyric that is found in other songs.) I googled that line and the first "hit" that I found was a sound file of a song performed by the Blind Boys Of Alabama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCkiMSEA09Q Mother�s Children Have a Hard Time

Here's the summary of that sound file:
"GOD DON'T NEVER CHANGE: THE SONGS OF BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON. A stunning collection of artists and performances celebrate the timeless music of legendary gospel bluesman Blind Willie Johnson. From the Blind Boys Of Alabama's soul-baring "Mother's Children Have A Hard Time" to Tom Waits' virtual embodiment of Johnson himself on "The Soul Of A Man" and "John The Revelator." From Derek Trucks' and Susan Tedeschi's reverent reading of "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning" to Lucinda Williams' slide guitar-fueled lament in "Nobody's Fault But Mine" to Luther Dickinson's spirited take on "Bye And Bye I'm Going To See The King" (with The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band). This record is packed with incomparable recordings that speak as much to the greatness of the performers as they do the enduring legacy of Blind Willie Johnson."
-snip-
That summary led me to this YouTube sound file: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SY_h4pqhNY Blind Willie Johnson �Mother's Children Have A Hard Time� Columbia 14343-D December 3, 1927

That sound file includes the lyrics to that song.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/06/blind-willie-johnson-motherless-child.html for a pancocojams post on this song.
-end of Update-

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Here's the information that is found at that research.culturalequity.org website:
:: Title :: I'm A Rollin', I'm A Rollin' (Everybody's A Rolling Stone)
:: Genre :: religious song, slavery song, spiritual
:: Performers & Instruments :: Jones, Bessie
:: Setting :: Alan Lomax's apartment, 3rd Street
:: Location :: Greenwich Village, New York City (New York), New York (United States)
:: Language :: English
:: Culture :: Southern U.S., African American, Sea Islands, Georgia
:: Session :: Bessie Jones VII 10/61
:: Date :: 10/12/1961
:: Text :: "I'm a rollin', rollin' (repeats), / I'm rolling through this unfriendly world. // Ever since I been newborn, / Rolling through this unfriendly world. // Everybody's a rolling stone, / Rolling through this unfriendly world?.// Mother's child has a hard time / Rolling through this unfriendly time. // Father will do the best he can ? " (etc.) With foot tapping."
-snip-
Unlike some other versions of this Spiritual, Bessie Jones' version of "I'm A Rollin" includes the words "Everybody's a rolling stone". This line from that Spiritual wasn't the source of the name of the Rock band the "Rolling Stones" and the Rolling Stones magazine. The source for that band name and magazine name was a Blues song recorded in 1950 by Muddy Waters entitled "Rollin Stone".

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