#155 - Kyle Thompson // Down to the River to Pray

We explore the history and biblical foundations of the hymn "Down to the River to Pray," tracing its origins from enslaved Africans in mid-19th century America to its modern popularity through Alison Krauss's recording for the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack.

• First appeared in print in 1867 in "Slave Songs of the United States" with possible encoded references to the Underground Railroad
• Highlights the tradition of mass public baptisms in the American South and Appalachia
• Contains biblical themes of baptism and repentance connected to John the Baptist
• Explores concepts of spiritual pilgrimage and eternal reward through lyrics about wearing "the starry crown"
• Features the recurring plea "Good Lord, show me the way," expressing our need to seek the Lord with our whole heart
• Alison Krauss's version on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack brought this hymn to modern prominence

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Daily Blade.
The Word of God is described asthe sword of the Spirit, the
primary spiritual weapon in theChristian's armor against the
forces of evil.
Your hosts are Joby Martin andKyle Thompson, and they stand
ready to equip men for the fight.
Let's sharpen up.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Welcome back.
This week on the Daily Bladewe're looking at five of my
favorite hymns of all time andwe're digging into the lyrics
and the biblical truths therein.
Also, I'm giving you my picksfor the best versions of each of
those songs.
So today we're looking at thehymn Down to the River to Pray.
So this is an interesting hymnfor many reasons, but one is
that we don't actually knowprecisely where it came from and

(00:40):
when it was written.
So it first popped up in printin 1867 in a book called Slave
Songs of the United States.
The listed title was the GoodOld Way and George H Allen is
actually credited with writingit down, but he is not the
original author of the lyricsnor the music.
So the generally held belief isthat this was a song that
originated with enslavedAfricans in the mid 19th century

(01:01):
here in America.
Thematically, the lyrics talkabout spiritual deliverance and
some have actually speculatedthat encoded in the lyrics are
references to literal bodilydeliverance from the scourge of
chattel slavery and even theUnderground Railroad.
So it also highlighted apopular form of communal worship
in the American South and inAppalachia, and that was mass

(01:21):
public baptisms in rivers orlakes or ponds or whatever body
of water they could find.
So this was not a particularlypopular hymn for a long time.
But in the year 2000, the songwas released as part of one of
the best-selling soundtracks ofall time, and that's for the
movie oh Brother, where Art Thou?
And it was performed by myabsolute favorite female
vocalist of all time, alisonKrauss.

(01:42):
So let me go ahead and read thelyrics here.
As I went down to the river topray, studying about that good
old way and who shall wear thestarry crown, good Lord, show me
the way.
Oh sisters, let's go down,let's go down, come on down, oh
sisters, let's go down down inthe river to pray.
As I went down in the river topray, studying about that good

(02:04):
old way and who shall wear therobe and crown, good Lord, show
me the way.
Oh brothers, let's go down,let's go down, come on down.
Come on, brothers, let's godown down in the river to pray.
And so you can actually repeatthe verses.
And then, as it is in theAlison Krauss version of this
song, you can repeat the verseswith fathers, mothers, sinners

(02:30):
or children, and you can justkind of keep going as desired.
So this particular hymn does notexplicitly have direct
scriptural references, but thebiblical allusions are all over
the place, even considering thevery simple lyrics.
So first of all, this hymn isabout baptism and repentance.
So the lyric, as I went down tothe river to pray.
So in the gospel of Matthew,chapter three, we see John the
Baptist, the cousin of Jesus,preparing the way for Christ.

(02:50):
So let's go into Matthew,chapter three, starting at verse
three.
In those days, john the Baptistbecame, came preaching in the
wilderness of Judea, repent, forthe kingdom of heaven is at
hand.
For this is he who was spokenof by the prophet Isaiah when he
said, the voice of one cryingin the wilderness prepare the
way of the Lord, make his pathstraight.
Now John wore a garment ofcamel's hair and a leather belt

(03:11):
around his waist, and his foodwas locusts and wild honey.
Then Jerusalem and all Judeaand all the region about the
Jordan were going out to him.
They were baptized by him inthe river Jordan, confessing
their sins.
So, as it is widely known andbelieved, being baptized does
not confer salvation, obviously,but it is certainly a public
declaration of a spiritualreality in the heart and soul of

(03:34):
the believer.
And second, the hymn here isabout pilgrimage and eternal
reward.
So pilgrimage.
Here's the lyrics oh brothers,let's go down, let's go down,
come on down.
Oh brothers, let's go down,let's go down, come on down.
Oh brothers, let's go down downin the river to pray.
So Hebrews 12, 1 and 2 says this.
Therefore, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us also layaside every weight and sin which

(03:58):
clings so closely and let usrun, with endurance, the race
that is set before us.
There's your journey, lookingto Jesus, the founder and
perfecter of our faith, who, forthe joy that was set before him
, endured the cross, despisingthe shame, and is seated at the
right hand of the throne of God.
And then we can look at eternalreward here.
So we have the lyrics.
And who shall wear the starrycrown?

(04:19):
And in another verse we see andwho shall wear the robe and
crown.
So we see a couple ofreferences from Revelation here.
So Revelation 2.10,.
Do not fear what you are aboutto suffer.
Behold, the devil is about tothrow some of you into prison,
that you may be tested, and for10 days you will have
tribulation.
Be faithful unto death and Iwill give you the crown of life.

(04:47):
And then Revelation 22, 14.
And finally, this hymn is aboutspiritually seeking the Lord,
right?
So the lyric here is Good Lord,show me the way, which brings
to mind Jeremiah 29, 13.
So let me leave you with somequestions.
Today, have you sought the Lordwith your whole heart?

(05:11):
Have you asked him to show youthe way?
Because I can tell you, jesusis the way, the truth and the
life, and our only hope forsalvation is in him.
So come on in, boys, thewater's fine.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
Thank you for listening to today's episode
Before you go.
If you want to help equip othermen for the fight, share this
podcast around and leave us afive-star rating and review.
Stay sharp.