I Kneel Beside the Jordan River

[An 'Early-American'-flavored "Spiritual" with Harp and Pan Flute sounds]

Yes, I had to smile— as I looked in the folder for this song I composed nearly ten years ago— when I saw two variations of the lyrics.​ At the top of the one paper I had written "Proper English"— and on the other, "Cotton-pickin' English." 

Since this song is a "spiritual" I'm choosing to favor the latter version, with its colloquial, and hopefully-not-too-offensive, dialect, to give the song more authenticity.

When I ponder the difficult lives of the colonial slaves on our early-American soils, I rejoice that some of them knew the mercies of Jesus, and kept their Faith alive, even through sometimes horrible and harrowing circumstances, by singing such simple, arrows-from-the-heart, hymns of Hope.

May we also, amid the deluge of our social media, choose daily to be active SING-ers of simple songs that move our hearts, and stir our spirits toward God.​

I Kneel Beside the Jordan River

I kneel beside the Jordan River, deep and wide,
Feel the lonely billows rollin' over me,
Know that I will soon be on the other side,
Free— forever free;
Listen!  Do you hear the angel sayin', 
"Wontcha come along without delayin'?
Soon you'll leave your sins behind, and all your prayin'— 
Walk on through with me."

I tremble on the brink, I take the Angel's hand,
Thinkin' of the family I leave behind,
Turn my meditation to the Promised Land,
To my Savior kind;
Listen!  Do you hear what I am hearin'?
"Dontcha see the Majesty a-nearin'?
Dontcha want to wash away this awful fearin'?
Step into the sea."

​
I step into the waters that are rollin' on,
Longin' for the loved ones all a-gone before,
Steppin' ever deeper till my footing's gone,
To the brighter Shore;
Listen!  Do you hear the happy singin'?
See the glory Angels 'round me wingin'?
In my Savior's loving arms [loving arms] I'll soon be clingin'— 
Bless-ed evermore!
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Composed on March 30, 2007. © 2007 Stanley K. Brubaker / Brooksong  LLC

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APOLOGY: Since this video is my first one posted that was recorded on my new "iPad / iPhone system" it is instrumental only. On this particular song, all of the syllables land perfectly on the notes, except for the slurs which all occur on the next-to-the-last syllables of lines 5, 6, & 7 of each verse. As I become more familiar with the system I hope to soon graduate to where ALL my song videos have Vocals.

REQUEST: If you happen to have, or know someone who has, a trained, or gifted/ high-quality voice, and especially if you live reasonably close to me, I would be glad to have some volunteers. See the Contact page on this site for our address and a map of where Janice and I live.
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Technical Notes: I shot this video using an iPhone 6, while simultaneously recording audio from an old E303 Yamaha Keyboard (Nylon Harp and Air Choir voices)into an iPad Pro 12.9, via the Auria Pro app, connected through an iRig Duo Pro interface. I hope to do a little video before too long showing how some of that works.