Wade in the Water
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Wade in the Water" (Roud 5439) is the name of a Negro spiritual first published in New Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers (1901) by John Wesley Work II and his brother, Frederick J. Work (see Fisk Jubilee Singers).
The main chorus is:
- Wade in the water.
- Wade in the water, children.
- Wade in the water.
- God's gonna trouble the water.
Selective list of recordings
- Sunset Four Jubilee Singers (Paramount 1923, 1925)
- Golden Gate Quartet (1946)
- Odetta The Tin Angel (1954)
- The Folksmiths with Joe Hickerson (1958) Folkways F-2407
- Ella Jenkins and the Goodwill Spiritual Choir (1960)
- Johnny Griffin The Big Soul Band (1960)
- Bob Dylan Live 1961–2000: Thirty-Nine Years of Great Concert Performances (2001)
- Judy Henske "Judy Henske" (1963)
- Graham Bond (1965)
- Ramsey Lewis Trio (1966)
- Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass (1967)
- Billy Preston (1968)
- Big Mama Thornton (1968)NOTE: lyrics recorded by Big Mama Thornton are quite different in that they seemingly have no biblic references.
- Harvey Mandel Cristo Redentor (1968)
- Eva Cassidy (1997)
- Chanticleer, recorded in "Reflections (An Anniversary Celebration)" (1997) and "A Portrait" (2005)
- Mary Mary Thankful (2000)
- Marc Broussard Carenco (2004) Not an official recording of Wade in the Water, but at 03:20 in the song Home, Broussard sings the chorus melody of Wade in the Water using altered lyrics of "Straight from the Water, Straight from the water, children"
- IIIRD TYME OUT (The Best Durn Ride) (2004)
- J. Boykin (Jesus Loves Me) (2009)
- John Boutte, recorded for the film Wade in the Water, Children (see above)
- Patty Griffin Downtown Church (2010)
- Cerys Matthews - "Explorer" (2011)
- Tedeschi Trucks Band Everybody's Talkin' (2012)
- Tina Savage The Son and the Soul (2013)
In popular culture
Template:See also 'Wade in the Water' is featured in a number of episodes from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, some of which include, but are not limited to;
- The song is twice heard in the fourth episode of the first season (Not with My Pig, You Don't).
- The seventeenth episode of the first season (The Ethnic Trip) - explains the meaning and the history of the song, and (as above) tells that it secretly contained explicit instructions to fugitive slaves on how to avoid capture and the route to take to successfully make their way to freedom by recommending the ex-slave to leave dry land and to take to the water as a strategy to throw pursuing bloodhounds off their trail.
- The song is featured in the film "The Little Colonel" (1935)
- It is also featured in Grey's Anatomy, in the first episode of season six: "Good Mourning part 1", and the second episode of the US remake of Skins, "Tea".
- Additionally, it is featured in "Reunion", Episode 206 of Touched by an Angel. It is sung by Della Reese, Natalie Cole, and Maya Angelou, with Roma Downey eventually attempting to join in.
- The Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Boston uses 'Wade in the Water' as an important symbol and part of the course for its baptismal training to parishes throughout the USA, as part of its distance learning programs through EDSConnect.
- The song is also heard in Deliver Us From Eva
- Recorded by Big Mama Thornton with the following lyrics:
Wade in the water – Big Mama Thornton version
See that cat on the mountain top He’s gonna rock and he just won’t stop
I said wade in the water Wade out in the water You wade in the water Everybody wade in the water
See that girl dressed in white She like to wade all night
I said wade in the water You Wade out in that water Wade in the water The hound dog’s wading in the water Beju’s wading in the water -solo- See that guy dressed in green He’s the cool[est] damn cat that I ever did see
I say, wade in the water Wade out in the water Wade in the water Everybody wade in the water
See that jack dressed in blue You know his waiting sure is through
I said wade now, in the water children Wade now in the water children Wade in the water The hound dogs wading in the water And big mama wading in the water Now how the whole band wading in the water I said wade – oh oh oh yes sir, yes sir - In the water
See also
