There's a Meeting Here Tonight
![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
"There's a Meeting Here Tonight" | |
---|---|
Song | |
Genre | Hymnal, Traditional |
There's a Meeting Here Tonight was a hymnal sung by enslaved Americans to alert other enslaved persons of planned meetings.[1][2]
1 Get you ready, there’s a meeting here tonight,
Come along there’s a meeting here tonight,
I know you by your daily walk,
There’s a meeting here tonight.
2 Oh, hallelujah, to the lamb,
There’s a meeting here tonight,
For the Lord is on the given hand,
There’s a meeting here tonight.
3 If ever I reach the mountain top,
I'll praise my Lord and never stop,
Get you ready, there’s a meeting here tonight.
4 Go down to the river when you're dry
And there you'll get your full supply,
Get ready, there’s a meeting here tonight.
5 You may hinder me here,
But you cannot there,
God sits in heaven
And he answers prayer.
There’s a meeting here tonight.
References
- ^ Robinson, William H. (1913). From Log Cabin to The Pulpit: or Fifteen Years in Slavery. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, REV. W. H. ROBINSON, Reminiscences of my early life - while in slavery. DEDICATED TO MY DAUGHTER, MARGUERITE. JAMES H. TIFFT, PUBLISHING PRINTER, EAU CLAIRE, WIS. Pages 79 and 80. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
The slaves would have to. devise many. schemes in order to serve God. Of course they had church once or twice a month, but some white man would do the preaching, and his text would always be, "Servants obey your masters," But this was not what our people wanted to hear, so they would congregate after the white people had retired, when you would see them with their cooking utensils, pots and kettles, go into a swamp and put the pots and kettles on the fence, with the mouths turned toward the worshipers. They would sing and pray, the kettles catching the sound. In this 'way they were not detected. I did not learn until just before the war why Wate carried the vessels with them to worship. In order to notify the slaves on other farms when there was going to be a meeting they would sing this song, and the slaves would understand what it meant. White people would think they were only singing for amusement:- "Get you ready, there's a meeting here tonight." Matt. £16. 1 Get you ready, there's a meeting here tonight, Come along there's a meeting here tonight, I know you by your daily walk, There's a meeting here tonight. 2 Oh, hallelujah, to the lamb, There's a meeting here tonight, For the Lord is on the given hand, There's a meeting here tonight.
- ^ "There's a Meeting Here Tonight". The Hymnary. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- Articles needing additional references from May 2024
- All articles needing additional references
- Wikipedia introduction cleanup from May 2024
- All pages needing cleanup
- Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from May 2024
- All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify
- Articles with topics of unclear notability from January 2024
- All articles with topics of unclear notability
- Music articles with topics of unclear notability
- Articles with multiple maintenance issues
- Articles with short description
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- African-American cultural history
- African-American spiritual songs
- Year of song unknown
- 19th-century hymns
- Gospel songs
- Songwriter unknown
- All stub articles
- Song stubs