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Our Prayer For Peace

The Dixie Hummingbirds
Language: English


The Dixie Hummingbirds

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"OUR PRAYER FOR PEACE" by James Walker with The Dixie Hummingbirds, 1964

Prayer For Peace


( Testo trascritto da S. D. )
When we pray, we like to include these words,
Lord teach us how to love each other
Every creed, Father, and every color
Let every man know, Father, let them know that it is a sin
To hate his brother because of the color of his skin

Oh Lord, I want you to guide our mind and soul
Lord, keep idle hands from doing anything that is wrong
Oh Lord Jesus, I know you're able to let all hatred cease
Teach us how to love and live together, Father, in perfect peace, oh Lord

Lord, let me live to see that great day come
When everybody, everybody
Lord, everybody will be as one
When there will be no more, oh no more separating, Lord
When there will be no more discriminating

If we could just get everybody to understand
That Jesus died, to save us all
He said, together we will stand and divided we all will fall
Lord oh, c'mon let all this hatred cease
Teach us how to work and go to school together, Father, in perfect peace

Contributed by S. D. - 2020/6/13 - 12:08



Language: English

Trascrizione a cura di A. P. della versione del 1963



Il gruppo si trovava in tour negli USA il giorno in cui avvenne l'assassinio di JFK ( 22 Nov. 1963 ).
James Walker ,uno dei leader del gruppo vocale, adattò per questo tragico evento musica e testo di una loro composizione dal titolo " A Prayer for Tomorrow "

La prima parte del video presenta i Birds nella interpretazione antesignana in rapping del famoso canto " Didn't It Rain Children ? " per poco piu' di un minuto .
Segue una conversazione che data anni successivi fra i componenti del gruppo che ricordano gli eventi di quei giorni poi il video in oggetto.


Trascrizione completa (a cura di A. P.) del video sia in b/n che a colori ( durata 3: 33 ) che comprende le 2 tracce : Didn't Rain e A Prayer for Peace.

A Prayer for Peace inizia a 1: 41 ed è la versione storica incisa il giorno susseguente i tragici fatti di Dallas del 22.11. 1963.
DIDN'T IT RAIN / A PRAYER FOR PEACE

[black & white film clip begins in the middle of a verse. I don't know what they are singing. It's something about Noah]

[around .035 to 1:10]

Didn't it rain, children?

Talk 'bout rain, oh, yes.
Talkin' ‘bout rain
Great God almighty
Didn't it rain?

Great God, it rained forty days, forty nights without stopping

Noah was glad when the rain stopped dropping

Sent out a raven and he sent out a dove
The water came close and it came from above

------------land was steep
He couldn’t find land to rest his feet.

doodoodoo doodoodoo doodoodoo doodoodoo doo

----no more. Now didn’t it

rain, children?

woo oo oo”…

1:12 conversation in color] -Members of The Dixie Hummingbirds reminiscing (remembering the past)

first man - I try to remember a song we did some time ago about praying for peace.
second man – Prayer for Peace?
first man – it was called “A prayer for tomorrow” at that time.
second man – Oh. Yeah.
first man – And then when I came to the Hamenburg I changed the title.
and the words.
Yeah, and ah when President Kennedy was assassinated, I think it was on Friday. I I think.
third man- Yeah
first man- Yeah
That Saturday, I wrote a verse about the uh assassination. And we were in, we were in Jamaica, New York.

1:41 shows a black and white film clip of the Dixie Hummingbirds singing “Our Prayer For Peace”

[The first man is heard saying- And boy when I did that verse, people were really going wild because it had just happened.

1:52- [In the black and white film clip, the first man is speaking while the other member of the group hum, clap, and slap their sides to the rhythm]
There was one thing that happened
that shook up the nation
In 1963. We all know it was on the 22nd of November.
TRAGEDY that happened way down in Dallas, Texas.
Ooooh, I do believe the whole world will forever remember.
Listen, President Kennedy, one who fought so hard for the human race.
By the hands of a mad evil man he killed Kennedy
He’s sleeping cold in his grave.
He was only trying to tell the world this

He said, Gather come along
Gather peace while it is time
God said to -------
Ooh, Jesus!
And Ooooh our Father
Let all the hating cease
Lord, if it’s Your will
Let us work for peace together, Lord
Let us all go in peace.

Contributed by L.E. - 2020/6/19 - 00:08


Questo è il video ( durata 3: 12 ) che presenta la traccia completa della versione dopo il 22.11.1963.
Traccia che è composta dalle prime 2 strofe del pezzo originale datato 1964 e dai versi aggiunti da James Walker dopo l'assassinio di JFK.

2020/6/19 - 08:52


" PRAYER FOR PEACE"

Commento di Brian Long sotto il video youtube " Prayer For Peace " 3:12 - full live version - caricato da
Kendal Kent

This should have been the main song of the Civil Rights Movement in the 50s and 60s. Not Bob Dylan's song or Pete Seeger's song. Mr Howard Carroll, guitarist with the Dixie Hummingbirds for 50 years (whose guitar shines in this number) told me and Rev Joe Williams (former singer with the Dixie Hummingbirds from 1982 to 1988 and before that leader of the Sons of the Birds) that when James Walker brought this song into the Dixie Hummingbirds repertoire in 1952 that no record company would record it for them because it was too controversial. No record company would touch it. One reason may have been since the Dixie Hummingbirds had many concerts and shows "behind enemy lines" places where the White Citizens Council, The KKK controlled everything, it may have put the lives of The Dixie Hummingbirds in danger if they were known as Civil Rights advocates

Pluck - 2021/8/31 - 10:35




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