Dese Bones G'wine Rise Again is an American Negro spiritual that tells the story of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
In this spiritual, a caller tells the story in rhymed couplets; each line of the couplet is followed by the final line of an abbreviated chorus sung in answer by the audience or congregation. Between each couplet, a complete chorus is sung. In the example below, the sung chorus is given in italics; the other words are the caller's lyrics:
De Lawd, He thought He’d make a man
Dese bones gwine rise again
Made ‘im outa mud an’ a han’ful o’ san
Dese bones gwine to rise again
(Chorus)
I knowed it Indeed I knowed it, brother
I knowed it Dese bones gwine to rise again
There are several variants of the lyrics; the dramatic and creative talents of the caller generate considerable variation. For one version of the lyrics, see the external link below.
Famous quotes containing the words bones and/or rise:
“There may be an excess of cultivation as well as of anything else, until civilization becomes pathetic. A highly cultivated man,—all whose bones can be bent! whose heaven-born virtues are but good manners!”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Let him go forth radiant,
let life rise in his young breast,
life is radiant,
life is made for beautiful love
and strange ecstasy,
strait, searing body and limbs.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)