"Down By the Riverside" is a gospel song. It is not known when it was first written, but it first shows up as a published song in 1918, in a collection of southern plantation melodies. There are more verses in the original version than in the one that we sing.
The song is based upon Isaiah 2:2-4, which is a prophesy about how in the last days the "...mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." Verse 4 says, "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
Down by the riverside is where the followers of Jesus gather to be baptized and thus change their lives; committing to becoming the peaceable followers of Christ.
Louie Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Peter, Paul & Mary and Nat King Cole all recorded versions of this song. The tune has been widely used and parodied and was even used by McDonalds in the 1960's jingle, "McDonalds is my kind of place."
No comments:
Post a Comment