St. John- Prompt #3: Spirituals

  I choose the spiritual Mary Don’t You Weep. Or sometimes it’s called Oh Mary Don’t You Weep. There wasn’t any particular reason as to why I chose it besides the title looked interesting. However, after listening to it, I’m very glad I chose this spiritual. At first glance the lyrics are very repetitive. The refrain is repeated a lot with only two verses being different. After doing some research I learned that the lyrics are about three completely different bible stories. The first being about escaping the Pharaoh in Egypt. The second being about Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus. And the third story is about Noah’s Arc. I also learned that “Mary” is a code word for freedom and represents a strong desire for justice. The lyrics have changed over the years but it has always been focused on the blend of these three biblical stories.  The version I’ve listened to and am going to include is by Aretha Franklin. She recorded her version of the Spiritual with Atlantic Records in 1972.

Mary, Don't You Weep