Origins: River of Death (Bill Monroe?)

Subject: Origins: River of Death
From: Rev
Date: 07 Oct 02 - 02:13 PM

Does anyone know the origins of the song "River of Death." I know that it was popularized by the Monroe brothers, but was it their original composition or did they adapt it from an earlier source.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Cheers, Rev

Subject: RE: Origins: River of Death
From: Stewie
Date: 07 Oct 02 - 08:08 PM

It is a Bill Monroe composition. I don't think the Monroe Brothers did it. Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys recorded it for Decca in October 1950 with Jimmy Martin on lead. Judging from the quote from Monroe relating to the song on the cover of 'A Voice From On High' MCA-131 [previously Decca DL7-5135], it seems that Monroe may have written it with him in mind, and with holiness hymns as a reference point:

Now that was Jimmy Martin singing the lead on that and that's a perfect song for him. Seems like I have written songs, you know, that would suit the people at the time they were working with me. Jimmy knows a lot about hymn-singing; his stepfather, I'm pretty sure, is a singing-school teacher; anyhow, he's the ;, and with hearing my type of hymn-singing he knows how to handle them pretty good. That 'River of Death' is perfect for him. It leads back kind of like a holiness number. You speak of things different ways and lines like that mean a lot to me ... it gets into the way I feel and touches my heart to hear words like that.

Some people, you know, don't believe in shouting in church or anything like that. Well, I have always loved to hear people shout, if they could shout. Anybody that can ... and it does them good; I think that they should and I think they're doing wrong by holding back, that they shouldn't be ashamed of it, and that's the same way about singing a hymn; if you feel like it and you can sing it. I believe in singing it. The colored people get to singing right from the heart, you know, and they get to living that song, and that is the way that I do most of my songs. [Bill Monroe to Ralph Rinzler and Alice Foster, printed as sleeve note to 'River of Death' on MCA-131].

I hope the above is of some use to you.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Origins: River of Death
From: Stewie
Date: 07 Oct 02 - 08:13 PM

My apologies, something was lost from the first para of the Monroe quote above. Line 4 should have read: 'anyhow, he's the lead singer in a church and Jim learned, I guess, to sing under him, and with hearing my type ...'

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Origins: River of Death
From: masato sakurai
Date: 07 Oct 02 - 09:41 PM

It's not on the Monroe Brothers' Rounder CDs (What Would You Give In Exchange For Your Soul? and Just A Song Of Old Kentucky). Not listed in Meade et al.'s Country Music Sources, either.

~Masato