Lining Out the Word: Dr. Watts Hymn Singing in the Music of Black Americans Volume 8

This book, a milestone in American music scholarship, is the first to take a close look at an important and little-studied component of African American music, one that has roots in Europe, but was adapted by African American congregations and went on to have a profound influence on music of all kindsand#151;from gospel to soul to jazz. and#147;Lining out,and#8221; also called Dr. Watts hymn singing, refers to hymns sung to a limited selection of familiar tunes, intoned a line at a time by a leader and taken up in turn by the congregation. From its origins in seventeenth-century England to the current practice of lining out among some Baptist congregations in the American South today, William Darganand#8217;s study illuminates a unique American music genre in a richly textured narrative that stretches from Isaac Watts to Aretha Franklin and Ornette Coleman.

Lining Out the Word traces the history of lining out from the time of slavery, when African American slaves adapted the practice for their own uses, blending it with other music, such as work songs. Dargan explores the role of lining out in worship and pursues the cultural implications of this practice far beyond the limits of the church, showing how African Americans wove African and European elements together to produce a powerful and unique cultural idiom. Drawing from an extraordinary range of sourcesand#151;including his own fieldwork and oral sourcesand#151;Dargan offers a compelling new perspective on the emergence of African American music in the United States.

Copub: Center for Black Music Research

William T. Dargan is Professor of Music at Saint Augustineand#8217;s College.

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I. The Proverbial Trees: Patterns of Change in African American Music Making

1. and#147;Blest Be the Tie That Bindsand#8221;: Part I: Congregational Singing as a Worship Ethos for Dr. Watts Hymns

2. and#147;Blest Be the Tie That Bindsand#8221;: Part II: Regional Style Traditions of Dr. Watts Hymn Singing

3. and#147;Our God, Our Help in Ages Pastand#8221;: The Tradition of Dr. Watts in English Historical Perspective

4. and#147;Father, I Stretch My Hands to Theeand#8221;: The Tradition of Dr. Watts in African Historical Perspective

5. and#147;I Love the Lord, He Heard My Criesand#8221;: The Role of Dr. Watts Hymns in the Musical Acculturation of African Americans

6. and#147;Go Preach My Gospel, Saith the Lordand#8221;: Words as Movers and Shakers in African American Music

Part II. The Proverbial Forest: Webs of Significance in African American Music Making

7. and#147;I Heard the Voice of Jesus Sayand#8221;: The Singing Life of the Reverend Doctor C.{ths}J. Johnson (1913and#150;90)

8. and#147;Come Ye That Love the Lordand#8221;: The Lining Outand#150;Ring Shout Continuum and the Five-Key Sequence

9. and#147;God Moves in a Mysterious Wayand#8221;: The Lining Outand#150;Ring Shout Continuum beyond Church Walls

Conclusion

Appendix A. Selection of Transcribed and Discussed Performances

Appendix B. Partial Annotated List of Recorded Lining-Out Performances Held in the Archive of Folk Culture, Library of Congress

Notes

Bibliography

Discography

Index