"Just a Closer Walk with Thee" is a traditional gospel song and jazz standard that has been performed and recorded by many artists. Performed as either an instrumental or vocal, "A Closer Walk" is perhaps the most frequently played number in the hymn and dirge section of traditional New Orleansjazz funerals. The title and lyrics of the song allude to the Biblical passage from 2 Corinthians 5:7 which states, "We walk by faith, not by sight"[1] and James 4:8, "Come near to God and He will come near to you."[2]
Instrumental New Orleans jazz version by Bunk Johnson
The precise author of "A Closer Walk" is unknown. Circumstantial evidence strongly suggested it dated back to southern African-American churches of the nineteenth century, possibly even prior to the Civil War, as some personal African American histories recall "slaves singing as they worked in the fields a song about walking by the Lord's side."[3] Horace Boyer cites a story that repudiates this claim, stating:
On a train trip from Kansas City to Chicago, composer Kenneth Morris exited the train on one of its stops to get some fresh air and heard one of the station porters singing a song. He paid little attention at first, but after he re-boarded the train the song remained with him and became so prominent in his mind that at the next stop, he left the train, took another train back to the earlier station, and asked the porter to sing the song again. Morris wrote down the words and music and published the song “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” that year, 1940, adding a few lyrics of his own to provide more breadth. Within two years the song became a standard in gospel music, eventually becoming a standard in Jazz, and then moving into the realm of American folk music, known and sung by many.”[4]
Songs with similar chorus lyrics were published in the 1800s, including "Closer Walk with Thee" with lyrics by Martha J. Lankton (a pseudonym for Fanny Crosby) and music by William Kirkpatrick, which was published in 1885.[5] Some references in Atchison, Kansas, credit an African-Americanfoundry worker and vocalist, Rev. Elijah Cluke (1907-1974), for the current rendition of the song.[6] "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" became better known nationally in the 1930s when African-American churches held huge musical conventions.[3] In 1940 Kenneth Morris arranged and published for the first time the well-known version after gospel musicians Robert Anderson and R.L. Knowles listened to William B. Hurse direct a performance of it in Kansas City and then brought it to Morris' attention.[7] Morris added some new lyrics and a choral arrangement.[7] In the 1940s, a boom of recordings recorded the number in many genres, ranging from Southern gospel to jazz and brass bands.
The revived interest in traditional New Orleans jazz resulted in multiple recordings of the number, including a 1945 session by Bunk Johnson's Brass Band featuring numbers Johnson had played in New Orleans before he left in 1915.
In 1958, an unreleased home recording was recorded by Elvis Presley,[10] made in Waco, Texas, on May 27.[11] Presley's studio version can be heard on Just a Closer Walk with Thee (2000) (Czech CD on Memory label).[12]Tennessee Ernie Ford made the charts with it in the late 1950s. By the end of the 1970s, more than a hundred artists had recorded the song.
Lyricsedit
Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
I am weak, but Thou art strong, Jesus, keep me from all wrong, I'll be satisfied as long As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
When my feeble life is o’er, Time for me will be no more, Guide me gently, safely o’er To Thy kingdom's shore, to Thy shore.
Notable recordingsedit
"Just a Closer Walk with Thee" has been recorded by numerous artists, including:
The Canadian Brass (1992), who during live performances use the piece as their "first encore"—their opening number—to which they process through the performance space to the stage[16]
^Kirkpatrick, W. McDonald, Joshua Gill, J. R. Sweney, W. J. (1885). Songs Of Joy And Gladness.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
^ abEncyclopedia of African American Music, Volume 3 (ABC-CLIO), pg. 83
^Dixon, Robert M. W. Blues and Gospel Records: 1890-1943, Oxford University Press (1997), page 786 - ISBN0-19-816239-1
^Dixon, Robert M. W. Blues and Gospel Records: 1890-1943, page 912
^. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2014-06-28. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
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This article is about the gospel song For recordings of the song see Just a Closer Walk with Thee disambiguation Just a Closer Walk with Thee is a traditional gospel song and jazz standard that has been performed and recorded by many artists Performed as either an instrumental or vocal A Closer Walk is perhaps the most frequently played number in the hymn and dirge section of traditional New Orleans jazz funerals The title and lyrics of the song allude to the Biblical passage from 2 Corinthians 5 7 which states We walk by faith not by sight 1 and James 4 8 Come near to God and He will come near to you 2 source source source Instrumental New Orleans jazz version by Bunk Johnson Contents 1 History 2 Lyrics 3 Notable recordings 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory editThe precise author of A Closer Walk is unknown Circumstantial evidence strongly suggested it dated back to southern African American churches of the nineteenth century possibly even prior to the Civil War as some personal African American histories recall slaves singing as they worked in the fields a song about walking by the Lord s side 3 Horace Boyer cites a story that repudiates this claim stating On a train trip from Kansas City to Chicago composer Kenneth Morris exited the train on one of its stops to get some fresh air and heard one of the station porters singing a song He paid little attention at first but after he re boarded the train the song remained with him and became so prominent in his mind that at the next stop he left the train took another train back to the earlier station and asked the porter to sing the song again Morris wrote down the words and music and published the song Just a Closer Walk with Thee that year 1940 adding a few lyrics of his own to provide more breadth Within two years the song became a standard in gospel music eventually becoming a standard in Jazz and then moving into the realm of American folk music known and sung by many 4 Just a Closer Walk with Thee Single by Selah Jubilee SingersA side A Walking in the Light of God Released1941RecordedOctober 8 1941GenreGospelLength3 19LabelDecca 7872Songwriter s UnknownSongs with similar chorus lyrics were published in the 1800s including Closer Walk with Thee with lyrics by Martha J Lankton a pseudonym for Fanny Crosby and music by William Kirkpatrick which was published in 1885 5 Some references in Atchison Kansas credit an African American foundry worker and vocalist Rev Elijah Cluke 1907 1974 for the current rendition of the song 6 Just a Closer Walk with Thee became better known nationally in the 1930s when African American churches held huge musical conventions 3 In 1940 Kenneth Morris arranged and published for the first time the well known version after gospel musicians Robert Anderson and R L Knowles listened to William B Hurse direct a performance of it in Kansas City and then brought it to Morris attention 7 Morris added some new lyrics and a choral arrangement 7 In the 1940s a boom of recordings recorded the number in many genres ranging from Southern gospel to jazz and brass bands The first known recording was by the Selah Jubilee Singers on October 8 1941 Decca Records 7872 New York City with Thurman Ruth and John Ford lead vocal Fred Baker lead baritone Monroe Clark baritone J B Nelson bass vocal and Fred Baker on guitar 8 Rosetta Tharpe also recorded the song on December 2 1941 Decca 8594 with Lucky Millinder and His Orchestra 9 The revived interest in traditional New Orleans jazz resulted in multiple recordings of the number including a 1945 session by Bunk Johnson s Brass Band featuring numbers Johnson had played in New Orleans before he left in 1915 In 1950 it was a million seller for Red Foley In 1958 an unreleased home recording was recorded by Elvis Presley 10 made in Waco Texas on May 27 11 Presley s studio version can be heard on Just a Closer Walk with Thee 2000 Czech CD on Memory label 12 Tennessee Ernie Ford made the charts with it in the late 1950s By the end of the 1970s more than a hundred artists had recorded the song Lyrics editJust a closer walk with Thee Grant it Jesus is my plea Daily walking close to Thee Let it be dear Lord let it be I am weak but Thou art strong Jesus keep me from all wrong I ll be satisfied as long As I walk let me walk close to Thee Through this world of toil and snares If I falter Lord who cares Who with me my burden shares None but Thee dear Lord none but Thee When my feeble life is o er Time for me will be no more Guide me gently safely o er To Thy kingdom s shore to Thy shore Notable recordings edit Just a Closer Walk with Thee has been recorded by numerous artists including Rosetta Tharpe Dec 1941 George Lewis 1943 13 Sallie Martin Singers mid 1940s Mahalia Jackson throughout her career Red Foley 1950 Pat Boone 1952 Henry Red Allen 1956 Tennessee Ernie Ford 1957 LaVern Baker 1959 Pete Fountain 1959 Louis Armstrong 1960 Patsy Cline 1960 Jimmie Rodgers 1960 Australia 1 for two weeks Dave Van Ronk 1961 Roy Acuff 1962 Chet Atkins 1962 Brook Benton 1962 Grant Green 1962 Robert Wilkins 1964 Little Richard 1964 The Seekers 1965 Connie Smith 1966 Ella Fitzgerald 1967 Patti Page 1967 Johnny Paycheck 1967 Harry Dean Stanton in the movie Cool Hand Luke 1967 Gladys Knight amp the Pips 1968 Joan Baez 1969 Dick Monda 1969 14 Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash 1969 15 Tammy Wynette 1969 Merle Haggard 1971 Loretta Lynn 1972 Johnny O Keefe 1973 Dana Rosemary Scallon in the Dana documentary Who Is Rosemary Brown 1974 Ike amp Tina Turner on the album The Gospel According to Ike amp Tina 1974 Albertina Walker 1975 Lawrence Welk 1978 Cristy Lane 1981 Dr John 1983 The Real Ale and Thunder Band At Vespers recorded at St Laurence s Parish Church Downton by BBC Radio Solent 1984 The Oak Ridge Boys 1987 Jim Nabors 1989 Preservation Hall Jazz Band 1990 both as a slow funeral march and again at a more upbeat tempo Van Morrison 1991 The Canadian Brass 1992 who during live performances use the piece as their first encore their opening number to which they process through the performance space to the stage 16 Crystal Gayle 1996 Gatlin Brothers 1996 Roger Key performed the song at the church of the ascension Easington Colliery 1995 Willie Nelson 1996 Harry Connick Jr bonus track on the album Come by Me 1999 Sarah Harmer 1999 Corey Harris 1999 Charlie Hunter 1999 Anne Murray 1999 VeggieTales 2003 George Jones 2003 Glen Campbell 2004 Dirty Dozen Brass Band 2004 Bart Millard 2005 Margo Smith 2005 Charley Pride 2006 Randy Travis 2006 Charlie Daniels 2007 Sara Evans 2008 Allen Toussaint on The Bright Mississippi 2009 Ronnie Milsap 2009 Environmental Encroachment EE Magic Circus Band 2009 Scott Avett 2011 Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton sung by Taj Mahal 2011 Rising Appalachia 2012 17 The Avett Brothers often performed as an encore and as a CrackerFarm performance 2012 The Fray performed with the song Wherever This Goes during the Helios tour 2014 Jack White performed the song in Austin Texas during the Lazaretto tour 2015 The Venice Beach Boys perform the song during the opening credits of the 1992 film White Men Can t Jump The Hillbilly Thomists 2017 18 Tumbleweed performed for the album Band Wagon by Classic Hymns at Chennai 2011 See also editList of pre 1920 jazz standardsReferences edit Just a Closer Walk with Thee Details AllMusic Retrieved 2015 12 16 The Faith We Sing Abingdon Press 2000 p 2158 ISBN 978 0687090549 a b Collins A 2009 Turn Your Radio On Zondervan p 142 ISBN 9780310864493 Boyer Horance Clarence 2000 The Golden Age of Gospel Urbana Illinois University of Illinois Press p 75 ISBN 0252068777 Kirkpatrick W McDonald Joshua Gill J R Sweney W J 1885 Songs Of Joy And Gladness a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Your Top 10 Winners of the Wonders of Atchison County People Archived from the original on April 3 2013 Retrieved December 17 2013 a b Encyclopedia of African American Music Volume 3 ABC CLIO pg 83 Dixon Robert M W Blues and Gospel Records 1890 1943 Oxford University Press 1997 page 786 ISBN 0 19 816239 1 Dixon Robert M W Blues and Gospel Records 1890 1943 page 912 YouTube YouTube Archived from the original on 2014 06 28 Retrieved 2015 12 16 Neale David Roots of Elvis iUniverse page 74 ISBN 0 595 29505 3 Bands and Artists P Presley Elvis Discography Just A Closer Walk With Thee MusicMoz Retrieved 2015 12 16 Echos of New Orleans Vol 1 George Lewis Songs Reviews Credits AllMusic 1943 05 16 Retrieved 2015 12 16 Dick Monda Truth Lies Magic and FaithRetrieved February 19 2016 Just A Closer Walk With Thee trad Bobdylanroots com 1969 02 18 Retrieved 2015 12 16 Gann Kyle 1985 01 21 Canadian Brass A Bold Mixture Of Music Humor The Chicago Tribune Retrieved 2015 12 19 Just a Closer Walk with Thee Spotify 23 November 2012 The Hillbilly Thomists Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Just a Closer Walk with Thee amp oldid 1174413238, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
