Southern Baptist Convention - Kum Ba Yah (Come By Here)

Topic: Kumbaya 1955-1961
Membership in the American Camping Association (ACA) grew after World War II, with much of it coming from church groups. [1]  In Michigan, a third of the camps, which existed in 1974, that were accredited between 1947 and 1958 were religious. [2]  No doubt there were more that did not seek ACA approval. [3]

The Michigan camps represented a variety of sponsors from Detroit’s Roman Catholic Youth Organization [4] and Ann Arbors’s Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship [5] to Baptists, [6] Calvinists, [7] Methodists, [8] and Mennonites. [9] [10]  Presumable staff members of some of the camps purchased copies of the ACA’s 1958 songbook, Let’s All Sing that contained “Kum Ba Yah.” [11]  This allowed the song to spread beyond the confines of the Methodist church that originally sponsored the song and its publisher.

The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention included a version of “Kum Ba Yah” the next year, 1959, in its Songs for Fun and Fellowship.  They used the CRS text, but provided a four-part chord arrangement by William Reynolds. [12]  This made it one of the first versions to include a piano accompaniment.

David Music notes that the church was broadening its interest in music in the 1950s, but it had few available composers who could write hymns in contemporary styles.  Reynold filled the vacuum and became “the most influential Southern Baptist church musician in the second half of the twentieth century.” [13]

The church apparently also did not have many resources for children’s music.  Twenty-five of the thirty-one secular songs were published by CRS by this time; twelve of the twenty-five were in Let’s All Sing.  The others included a nineteenth century popular song with Irish themes, [14] and ones like “Michael Finnigan” and “Mistress Shady” that CRS did not encourage.

Nine of the twenty-four religious songs were spirituals, while “One More River” was a humorous description of Noah’s ark.  The book also may have introduced “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus,” which Music credited to Reynolds. [15]

Performers
Vocal Group: four part chords
Instrumental Accompaniment: piano arrangement

Credits
Arranged by Peter Gregory.  Arrangement © Copyright 1959, Broadman Press.

From Hymns of Universal Praise copyright Cooperative Recreation Service, Inc., 1956, Delaware, Ohio.  Used by permission.

[At this time, CRS was using the Hymns of Universal Praise copyright for the song.]

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: no comment

Verses: those published by Cooperative Recreation Service (CRS) – kumbaya, crying, singing, praying

Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Basic Form: four-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Unique Features: none

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5; same melody as that published by CRS
Time Signature: 3/4
Key Signature: three flats
Basic Structure: strophic repetition

Singing Style: one syllable to one note, except for final “Lord;” alto occasionally sings two notes

Vocal-Accompaniment Dynamics: four-part chords change on every syllable

Notes on Performance
Cover: none oval balloons with bows underneath to suggest heads with bow ties; ovals at different heights; title at top

Color Scheme: green and black ink on dark yellow paper

Notes on Audience
Two more volumes were published in 1961 [16] and 1969. [17]  They must have popular, because versions of all three are available on Abe Books, Amazon, and eBay.

Notes on Performers
William Jensen Reynolds edited Songs for Fun and Fellowship and arranged “Kum Ba Yah.”  He was the son and nephew of singers, and both his parents graduated from Moody Bible Institute. [18]  He earned degrees in church music from Southwestern Baptist Theological School and North Texas State College. [19]

After graduation in 1946, he spent nine years workings as a minister specializing in music and youth in Oklahoma and Texas.  During this period, he established a summer music camp for the First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City.  He also served on the committee that produced the 1956 Baptist Hymnal. [20] [21]

Reynolds went to work as music editor for the Sunday School Board in 1955, and remained there until the purges that followed the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1979. [22]  Music says: “the reasons for his mandatory retirement are not entirely clear, but were a result of internal issues at the Board.”  Reynolds returned to teach at Southwestern Seminary until he retired in 1998.  He died in 2009. [23]

Cecil McGee co-edited Songs for Fun and Fellowship.  He was raised in Oklahoma, and received a master’s degree from Southwestern Theological Seminary.  He was the man on the Sunday School Board who encouraged the group that produced the first Baptist musical, Good News. [24]  He later built a retreat in Titusville, Florida, and died in 2007. [25]

Availability
Songbook: “Kum Ba Yah (Come Ba Here).”  47 in Songs for Fun and Fellowship #1, edited by William J. Reynolds and Cecil McGee.  Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1959.

End Notes
1.  Item on Elmer Ott in “A History of ACA Presidents and Board Chairs.”  American Camp Association website; based on Eleanor Fell’s History of Organized Camping: The First 100 Years.  Martinsville, Indiana: American Camping Association, 1986.

2.  See the post for 28 Mary 2023 for more details on the sample of camps.

3.  A camp does not need accreditation from the ACA to operate.  Many 4-H and church camps I knew about in the 1950s and 1970s were not accredited, because the name of the sponsoring organization was sufficient for parents.

4.  CYO Camp for Boys.
5.  Cedar Campus.
6.  Michigan Baptist General Conference’s Center Lake Bible Camp.

7.  Church of Christ’s Michigan Christian Youth Camp; Maumee Valley, Ohio, Presbyterians’ Premauca Education Center.

8.  The Methodist Church’s Wesley Woods; Free Methodist’s Covenant Cove Camp.
9.  Friedenswald.
10.  I could not find the affiliation for Blair Lake Bible Camp, although it still exists.
11.  Let’s All Sing is discussed in the post for 4 June 2023.

12.  Reynolds used the name Peter Gregory. [26]

13.  David W. Music.  “William J. Reynolds: Extraordinary Church Musician.”  Artistic Theologian website, 15 November 2013.

14.  “Sweet Rosie O’Grady” was written for vaudeville by Maude Nugent in 1896.  In 1946, she unsuccessfully sued 20th Century Fox for misappropriating the title. [27]

15.  “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.”  53 in Songs for Fun and Fellowship.  Stanzas 1 and 2 as sung by the Garo Christians; stanza 3 by John Clark; folk song from India arranged by William J. Reynolds; copyrighted in 1959 by Broadman Press.

16.  Songs for Fun and Fellowship #2, edited by William Jensen Reynolds and Cecil McGee.  Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1961.

17.  Songs for Fun and Fellowship #3, edited by Cecil McGee and Bob Oldenburg.  Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1969.

18.  Moody Bible Institute was founded in Chicago in 1886 at the behest of Dwight Lyman Moody to train Christian teachers, ministers, missionaries, and musicians to work in cities. [28]  It has been mentioned as an alma mater or employer in posts for 27 September 2017, 19 December 2018, 2 August 2020, and 11 December 2022.

19.  Music.

20.  Southern Baptist Convention.  Baptist Hymnal, edited by W. Hines Sims.  Nashville, Tennessee: Convention Press, 1956.

21.  Music.
22.  “Southern Baptist Convention.”  Wikipedia website; accessed 7 June 2023.
23.  Music.
24.  Good News is discussed in the post for 13 December 2020.

25.  Obituary for Cecil L. McGee.  Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas, 11 April 2007; reprinted on Legacy website.  I assume he also was forced out in 1979, although that is not stated in the obituary.

26.  “Carols Sing.”  Copyright Encyclopedia website.

27.  James J.  Fuld.  The Book of World-Famous Music.  New York: Dover Publications, 2000 edition.  343-345.

28.  “Moody Bible Institute.”  Wikipedia website; accessed 8 June 2023.

American Camping Association - Kum Ba Yah

Topic: Kumbaya 1955-1961
The American Camping Association issued a new songbook through Cooperative Recreation Service in 1958 that included “Kumbaya.”  It contained 42 songs from the 1948 songbook discussed in the post for 28 May 2023.  They represented just over a quarter of the 160 songs in Let’s All Sing.

The change was not simply the result of Lynn Rohrbough having more international songs to offer.  The editors of the 1948 songbook were associated with private camps.  Two of the four editors of the newer book worked with camps for the underprivileged.  Beyond class, the children in private camps tended to be older than those in ones sponsored by public agencies.

The repertoire reflected these changes.  A quarter of the songs in the 1948 songbooks came from Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, the YWCA, and other girls’ camps traditions.  That number was down to 14% in 1958.  The earlier songbook had only one that involved motions, decremental or cumulative repetition that appeal to younger campers.  In 1958, that number was up to 19, or just over 10% of the collection.

Equally important is a change in the gender composition of camps.  A third in Michigan in 1948 served girls alone and a third catered to boys and girls in the same session.  About 15% of the camps were for boys, and the other 15% were camps that served boys and girls in different sessions or locations. The camps in Michigan accredited by the American Camping Association between 1949 and 1958, which still existed in 1974, were predominantly coed (65%). [1]

More songs in the 1958 songbook would have appealed to boys than in the 1948 one.  Two in the earlier book had cowboy themes. [2] Four were added in the 1948 songster, [3] along with two sea chanteys. [4]  The editors did not include any of the rowdy songs that would appeal to young boys, like “Puffer Billies” or “Little Tommy Tinker.” [5]

The 1948 songbook contained just two spirituals: “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Trampin’.”  The latter often was considered a camp song because “tramping” was analogous to “hiking.”  The later collection had nine, [6] plus two that had the same form: “Rocka My Soul” and “Standing in the Need of Prayer.”

The text and tune for “Kum Ba Yah” were the same as the one’s included in the original Indianola songbook edited by Kathryn Thompson Good and John Blocher.  The credit had changed from “Angola” to “spiritual” and the pronunciation note had been removed in the copy I own. [7]  In addition, guitar chords had been added.

Performers
Vocal Soloist: single melodic line
Instrumental Accompaniment: guitar chords

Credits
Spiritual

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: the pronunciation note in Indianola Sings has been removed

Verses: kumbaya, crying, singing, praying; same verses and same order as those published in Indianola Sings

Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: four-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: none

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5; the melody is the same as Indianola Sings
Time Signature: 3/4
Tempo: slowly
Key Signature: no sharps or flats
Guitar Chords:  C F G7
Basic Structure: strophic repetition
Singing Style: one syllable to one note except for final “Lord”
Ending: none

Notes on Performance
Cover: Title with a treble clef sign and the American Camping Association logo

Color Scheme: The cover uses dark green ink on mustard stock; inside, the pages employ dark gray ink on white paper.  The revised edition cover is lighter yellow.

Plate: made by music typewriter

Notes on Audience
Let’s All Sing was revised in 1960.  Unlike many CRS songbooks, [8] this one listed the changed on the inside front cover.  All the songs that were dropped were under copyright, including “Smokey the Bear.” [9]

The impact of the songbook on various camps varied, depending on their existing repertoires.  I remember singing 16 at Camp Kitanniwa from the 1948 anthology, and 15 that were new in 1958.  However, the Battle Creek, Michigan, Camp Fire Girls’ camp already was singing most of them.

The one that most likely came from this book is “In a Cottage in the Wood.”  I recall one girl in the senior unit particularly liked the gestures, and she was there in 1958 and 1959.  However, the ACA version came from Mrs. Charles Hensley, who learned it at an International Encampment of Girl Scouts. [10]  It could have been brought to Kitanniwa by a Girl Scout.

Notes on Performers
The ACA song book committee had four members.  I could find nothing about Ann Woolf, other than she received the Southern California chapter’s Outstanding Service Award. [11]  She contributed the version of “Downright, Upright,” [12] a literal gesture song.

Annabeth Brandle was born in Missouri in 1907, [13] and graduated from the University of Missouri in 1929. [14]  She became associated with Sherwood Forest, a camp in the Cuivre State Park near Troy, Missouri.  The camp opened in 1937 as a WPA project to offer recreation to urban residents, and catered to the low-income city children. [15]  She was particularly interested in public school camping programs. [16]

Brandle was credited with three songs in Let’s All Sing: “Fire Is Burning,” [17] “Lu-la-le,” [18] and “Now Come All.” [19]  The first is based on “Scotland’s Burning,” while the second encourages swaying to the words.  The last is an evening closing song.

Larry Eisenberg, as mentioned in the post for 9 February 2020, worked for the Methodist Church until 1952.  He and his wife, the former Helen Lowe, then wrote books for the YMCA through 1956. [20] This broadened his awareness of camp needs, especially his How To Lead Group Singing. [21]  He volunteered the “Calliope Song” to the ACA collection.  It involved groups imitating the different parts of an instrument. [22]

Walter Anderson probably was the lead editor, since he was closely associated with Rohrbough in 1958.  As mentioned in the post for 5 February 2023, he spent the summers before joining the Antioch College faculty, working at a summer camp run by a Cleveland community center.  He directed the Chippewa Valley Camp during World War II. [23]  Sometime in this period he was elected treasurer of the American Camping Association. [24]

In 1968, Anderson left Ohio for the Washington, DC, area to work for the National Endowment for the Arts.  He died in 2003. [25]

He is credited with the version of “Good News” [26] in the ACA songbook, and transcribed the songs of Brandle and Woolf.  He, no doubt, also was responsible for the inclusion of so many spirituals.

Availability
Songbook: “Kum Ba Yah.”  85 in Let’s All Sing, edited by Walter Anderson, Annabeth Brandle, Larry Eisenberg, and Ann Woolf for the American Camping Association.  Delaware, Ohio: Cooperative Recreation Service, Cooperative Song Service, no date.

Songbook: “Kum Ba Yah.”  85 in Let’s All Sing, edited by Walter Anderson, Annabeth Brandle, Larry Eisenberg, and Ann Woolf for the American Camping Association.   Delaware, Ohio: Cooperative Recreation Service, Cooperative Song Service, January 1958; revised December 1960.

Graphics
“Kum Ba Ya.”  Let’s All Sing.  85.  Previous owner checked the song.

End Notes
1.  See the post for 28 Mary 2023 for more details on the sample of camps.
2.  “Night Herding Song” and “Roundup Lullaby.”
 
3.  “Ol Texas” [27] and “Railroad Corral” [28] appeared in earlier Girl Scout songbooks.  The “Cowboy Love Song” and “Cowboy Night Song” were new and carried no citation.

4.  “Rio Grande” and “Shenandoah.”

5.  When I attended a public school camp in 1955, these are the two rounds that were taught.

6.  “Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit,” ‘Good News,” “He’s Got the Whole World,” “I Know the Lord,” “Let Us Break Bread Together,” “Little Wheel,” “Old Ark’s a-Movering,” and “We’ll Stand the Storm.”   Kitanniwa sang the version of “All Night, All Day” published by Mary Allison Sanders for the Camp Fire Girls and  Girl Scouts. [29]

7.  One is never sure one has the original version of a CRS songbook.

8.  The post for 20 February 2022, note 18, mentions some of the ways songbooks changed from printing to printing, and the problems those changes could cause.

9.  The other omitted songs are “Tzena, Tzena” and “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”
10.  “In a Cottage.”  Let’s All Sing.  26.

11.  American Camp Association Southern California/Hawaii.  “Outstanding Service Award Recipients.”  Its website.  It only lists names.

12.  “Downright, Upright.”  Let’s All Sing.  18.  “As sung by Ann Woolf.  Notated by Walter Anderson.

13.  Laura.  “Annabeth Brandle.”  Find a Grave website, 7 November 2013; updated by Memorial Grammy.

14.  Savitar.  University of Missouri yearbook, 1929.

15.  Cathy Sala.  “Note about the Emergency Conservation Work (E.C.W.) Architecture in Missouri State Parks, 1933 – 1942, Thematic Resources (TR).”  Missouri State Parks website, April 2018.

16.  Annabeth Brandle.  “Camp Living Gives New Insights.”  Childhood Education 30(4):172-174:1953.

17.  Annabeth Brandle.  “Fire Is Burning.”  Let’s All Sing.  49.  “Based on Scotland’s Burning.”

18.  “Lu - la - le.”  Let’s All Sing.  18.  “As sung by Annabeth Brandle.  Notated by Walter F. Anderson.”

19.  “Now Come All.”  Let’s All Sing.  49.  “As sung by Annabeth Brandle.  Notated by Walter F. Anderson.”

20.  Larry Eisenberg.  “It’s Me, O Lord.”  Tulsa, Oklahoma: Fun Books, 1992.  62.

21.  Helen Eisenberg and Larry Eisenberg.  How To Lead Group Singing.  New York: Association Press, 1955.

22.  “Calliope Song.”  Let’s All Sing.  40.  Courtesy Larry Eisenberg.  Other songs in the collection that imitated musical instruments or ensembles are: “The Instruments,” and “Orchestra.”

23.  Joan Horn.  Playing on All the Keys: The Life of Walter F. Anderson.  Yellow Springs, Ohio: Yellow Springs Historical Society, 2007.  39–40.

24.  Horn.  45.
25.  Claudia Levy.  “Walter Anderson Dies.”  Washington Post, 29 November 2003.
26.  Walter F. Anderson.  “Good News.”  Let’s All Sing.  82.

27.  “Ol’ Texas” appeared in Eleanor Thomas’ Pocket Songbook, which is discussed in the post for 4 December 2022.

28.  “Railroad Corral” appeared in Janet Tobitt’s Ditty Bag, which is discussed in the post for 4 December 2022, especially in note 33.

29.  Sanders is discussed in the post for 4 December 2022, especially note 26.