Topic: Religious Uses
The Bolton Brothers used memories of their mother to introduce "Come by Here" to a revival audience in a Decatur, Georgia, Baptist church:
"We’d be down on the mourning bench. [Names individuals] and my momma. They would all gather ’round us. And they would sing the old song."
Mourning benches were popularized in New York state by Charles Finney, a nineteenth-century Presbyterian evangelist who applied methods of mass persuasion to the pulpit. He revived the fiery rhetorical techniques of the Calvinist divines of New England to scare people. Then he directed his attention to particular individuals to shame them before their neighbors for not heeding his call to come to the altar and commit themselves to Christ before their eyes. Once individuals had come forward to his anxious seat, he and his aides verbally worked them over to break their spirit. Once humiliated and begging for forgiveness, they were accepted. Then, of course, being Presbyterians, they had to undergo indoctrination in the creeds of the church to become full members. [1]
The altar call and anxious seat were quickly adopted by camp meetings, including ones held by Baptists who did not have the same commitment to scriptural knowledge as evidence of salvation. They had spread to parts of the South by 1836 when Alexander Campbell reported the thoughts of another revival Presbyterian on the validity of baptisms given in what would become West Virginia to individuals who had not fully repented. He thought:
"little or no confidence is to be placed in the Baptist mourning bench, camp-meeting, and revival converts. He regards them as drawn more by passion than by faith; and should they ever afterwards come to believe on the proper testimony, they ought to be re-immersed." [2]
The Dictionary of American Regional English map for the term "mourner’s bench" showed the term became most popular in South Carolina and in states in the Mississippi river drainage, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Kentucky. [3] In the Boltons’ church in southeastern Mississippi, "Come by Here" was used to ask the Lord to help bringing about conversions.
Performers
Soloists: James Bolton, Ray Bolton, L. W. Bolton, Jr.
Vocal accompaniment: Byrone Bolton, Paul Bolton, Cedric King, and New Hope Baptist Church Choir, Powder Springs, Georgia
Instrumental accompaniment: Jerry Bolton, keyboard; Chris Hatchett, keyboard (piano); Keith Brumfield, organ; Tony Gibbs, electric bass; Undra Watts, electric guitar
Rhythm accompaniment: Hand claps by choir and audience; Shawn Williams, drum set
Note: CD, and probably the YouTube, has dubbing and mixing, including for the choir
Credits
James Bolton, ASCAP
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronoun: somebody
General Format: prelude-denouement
Line Form: statement-refrain
Prelude
Form: one man sang two AAAB verses and a second man sang one. A third brother varied each line to A1A2A3B. The choir sang "come by here." The verses requested the presence of the Lord with come by here, somebody’s praying, and variations on we need your power.
Transition
Form: instrumental interlude.
Denouement
Form: the choir sang "Oh Lord" over and over" while two brothers took turns singing fragments of lines or just sang "Oh." These brief phrases indicated the Spirit was present.
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-5
Tempo: upbeat
Basic Structure: call-response and group accented by the soloist
Solo-Solo Dynamics: each brother sang alone. They made eye contact, but only one time did two of them sing together, and that was on an "Oh" in the denouement. There were instrumental sections between each verse, so musicians had no need to make transitions from one singer’s style to the next.
Solo-Group Dynamics:
Prelude: on the first three lines of the verse, the soloist sang the statement and the choir followed with "come by here." On the last line, the soloist sang "Oh" and they finished "Lord come by here."
Denouement: the choir sang "Oh Lord" over and over, without stopping. The soloist either sang "Oh," "Oh Lord," or part of a line like "calling on you name." Most of the time one or the other brother sang something at the beginning of every phrase. Toward the end, the opening singer skipped some phrases and let the choir keep repeating its part.
Choir singing style: chordal harmony.
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: the brothers used a local choir and may have used some local musicians. They no doubt rehearsed, but still needed coordination during the performance. One brother, the one who introduced the song and sang the first two verses, used the expression "here we go" when he transferred the lead to his other brothers. He used the expression again at the end of the instrumental-movement transition to signal the choir and instrumentalists to change to the denouement. At the end of the last part, he used a hand signal to indicate the choir should sing the last line. Then he turned to the accompanists to direct the final notes.
The choir director often was turned towards the brothers, with his back to his choir, to pick up the necessary cues for his group. He used his body to keep them together, both by stepping and by clapping.
Notes on Performance
The Bolton Brothers’ performance was at a revival held by the New Beginning Full Gospel Baptists Church. [4] The founder, James H. Morton, was raised in Windsor, Canada, and spent time with C. L. Franklin in Detroit. [5] His church purchased an existing religious complex in 1994; the renovated sanctuary seated 2,300. [6]
The Bolton Brothers wore mustard-yellow suits with white shirts and handkerchiefs. They did not wear ties. The tops their shirts were open, but their jackets were buttoned. The choir and musicians wore black; some men were in turtlenecks; most of the women were in dresses.
Introduction: at the end of each phrase, the organ would sustain a chord. The pronunciations of the names with the pauses was reminiscent of some routines by Jerry Clower. The white country-music comedian was from the Mississippi delta, and the linguistic patterns probably were regional.
Prelude: the choir began clapping as soon as the music started, and the brothers started bending their knees. An instrumental break separated each verse during which the brothers moved and the choir clapped.
Transition: a longer instrumental break with coordinated movements by the brothers. The choir continued clapping.
Denouement: no instrumental breaks; the choir’s repetitions of "Oh Lord" were unceasing. They continued clapping and the brothers continued bending their knees.
Notes on Movement
The Bolton Brothers stood in a line, with the solist turning in different directions and often bending forward from the waist while he was singing. While they were singing, the men bent their knees as they stepped from side to side, giving a visual, but not an actual, bounce to the move. During the instrumental break, they bent their knees twice, then rotated on their heels to bend their knees twice facing right. They then rotated 180 degrees on their heels to bend their knees once facing left, then rotated back to face front.
The choir clapped throughout. Instead of slapping their hands into a praying position, one hand was held palm up, and the other was brought down onto it. Some switched the position every few claps, and some less often. Even when the hands were nearly upright, the clap was one coming down on the other. The hand switches did not affect the clap rhythm, even though they added to the complexity of the motion.
Notes on Audience
While the Bolton Brothers were singing, members of the audience were singing with the choir or stepping. As the song continued, some men began dancing in place. During the instrumental break, some in front moved forward and began dancing in the open area before the stage. The most innovative was a young man, but an older woman also shuffled about. Most wore suits or dresses.
Viewers’ Perceptions
In addition to comments praising the group or Christ, some on YouTube talked about the song itself. One said:
"my dad would always sing this song around the house. He died back in 1983. I was 13 years old then.
"Today I sing this song in our small church way back in Abq, NM. Some good old southern gospel, revival stompin’ Holy Ghost feelin’ shouten." [7]
Another remembered: "Come by here dear lord come by if u don’t stay long love this song since I’ve heard it in my lovely church glorious church of god newton North Carolina founded by Ethel Ramseur and her family." [8]
Notes on Performers
Linwood Bolton, was a Baptist minister in McLain Mississippi, and so were all eight of his sons. [9]. One of his twelve daughters, Ruthie, played on Olympic basketball teams. [10] The brothers began performing in Hattiesburg in 1976, and recorded their first live album in 1996. [11]
Availability
CD: Revival in Atlanta. Blackberry Records BBD-1632. New Beginning Full Gospel Church, Decatur, Georgia, 21 August 2001.
YouTube: VHS. Uploaded by Pannellctp Traditional Gospel Music on 15 May 2012.
End Notes
1. Charles G. Finney. Revival Lectures. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1835.
2. "Re-immersion and Brother Thomas." The Millennial Harbinger 7:56-58:February 1836. 58. Campbell later formed the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Immersed refers to baptism.
3. "Mourners’ Bench." In Frederic G. Cassidy. Dictionary of American Regional English. On-line edition on University of Wisconsin website.
4. New Beginning Full Gospel Baptists Church, Decatur. "Church History." Its website. 2016.
5. New Beginning FGBC. "Bishop James H. Morton."
6. New Beginning FGBC, History.
7. NDN. Comment. YouTube, March 2017.
8. Luis. Comment. YouTube, 8 August 2017.
9. Obituary for Paul Bolton, 18 October 2013. GenLookUps website.
10. "Ruthie Bolton Boyd Childress." Encyclopedia of Alabama website.
11. Charlotte Dillon. "The Bolton Brothers." All Music website.
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