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Leave It There
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Wikipedia article
"'Leave It There'" is a Christian hymn composed in 1916 by African-American Methodist minister Charles A. Tindley. It has become popular enough to have been included in 12 hymnals; and even to be attributed to "traditional" or "anonymous". The title is sometimes given as "'Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There'" or as "'Take Your Burden to the Lord'" or as "'Take Your Burden'", words taken from the song's refrain; the plurals "burdens" and "them" are sometimes used, and "God" instead of "the Lord":
Origins of the lyrics
The song relates to Psalm 55:22:
and to Christ's words in the Gospel of Matthew at 11:28-30:
It also relates to the Gospel of Matthew at 6:26:
Recording history
On December 2, 1927, the song was recorded in gospel blues style by Washington Phillips (vocals and zither). According to the book Country Music Records : A Discography, 1921-1942: A Discography, 1921-1942, on December 13, 1927, it was recorded by Frank and James McCravy. On June 30, 1928, it was recorded in gospel style by the Pace Jubilee Singers (chorus, singing in close harmony) with Hattie Parker (vocal soloist) and piano accompaniment. On December 11, 1929, it was recorded in gospel blues style by Blind Willie Johnson (vocals (using his "growl" (false bass) voice throughout) and guitar) and Willie B. Harris (vocals), who is thought to have been his first wife. Despite their closeness in time both to each other and to the date of composition, those three early versions are stylistically very different.
The song has since been recorded many times in a wide variety of styles; mostly gospel-based, but a few blues- or country-based. Some recordings misattribute authorship to Johnson or to Phillips instead of to Tindley; some artists have even claimed that it was their own composition.
Recordings
* 19231936Snowball and Sunshine, "Leave It There" included on the 2012 compilation album 'Work Hard, Play Hard, Pray Hard: Hard Time, Good Time & End Time Music 19231936'
* 1927Washington Phillips, "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" 10" 78rpm single Columbia 14277-D
* 1927Ruth Donaldson & Helen Jepsen, "Leave It There" 10" 78rpm single Gennett 6241
* 1928Pace Jubilee Singers with Hattie Parker, "Leave It There" 10" 78rpm single Victor 21551-B
* 1929Blind Willie Johnson, "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" 10" 78rpm single Columbia 14520-D
* 192934Blind Joe Taggart, "Take Your Burden to the Lord"
* 192936Blind Roosevelt Graves and Uaroy Graves, "Take Your Burden to the Lord"
* 193839Golden Gate Quartet, "Take Your Burden(s) to God"
* 193839Shelby Gospel Four, "Take Your Burden to the Lord"
* 1951Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Gospel Harmonettes, "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" first released in 1994 on the album 'Women of Gospel's Golden Age, Vol. 1'
* 1951Famous Ward Singers, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" Savoy Records 4033
* 195253Tommy Duncan, "Take Your Burden to the Lord"
* 1962James Cleveland and the Angelic Choir, "Leave It There" Savoy Records 4188
* 1963Eureka Brass Band, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'Jazz at Preservation Hall, Vol. 1'
* 1964Kid Thomas Valentine, Emanuel Paul and Kid Sheik, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'The Three Kings'
* 1965Joseph Spence, "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There"
* 1966The Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister, "Leave It There" on the album 'The Happy Sound of the Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister'
* 1967The Incredible String Band, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" first released in 2006 on the album 'The Circle Is Unbroken: Live and Studio 19671972 '
* 1967Warner Mack, "Leave It There" on the album 'Songs We Sang in Church and Home'
* 1970Dock Boggs, "Leave It There" on the album 'Dock Boggs, Volume 3'
* 1972Jeffrey Shurtleff, "Leave It There" on the album 'State Farm'
* 1973Blind Arvella Gray, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'The Singing Drifter'
* 1973Sensational Nightingales, "Take Your Burdens to the Lord" on the album 'You and I and Everyone'
* 1975 Percy Humphrey and His Crescent City Joymakers, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'Climax Rag'
* 1976William Truckaway, "Leave It There" on the album 'Breakaway'
* 1992Al Hobbs and the Indy Mass Choir, "Leave It There" on the album 'All Is Well'
* 1993Tanya Goodman, "Leave It There" on the album 'Innocent Eyes'
* 1994Rev. W. Leo Daniels with Mrs. Nevarro Daniels, "Leave It There" on the album 'So Happy'
* 1995Blind Connie Williams, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'Philadelphia Street Singer'
* 1995The Fairfield Four, "Leave It There" on the album 'Standing on the Rock'
* 1995Georgia Mass Choir, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'Lord Take Me Through'
* 1995Jimmy Hill and The Anointed Voices of Power, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'Stop the Violence'
* 1995The Horizon Family, "Leave It There" on the album 'Singing at the National Quartet Convention'
* 1996Bill and Gloria Gaither, "Leave It There" on the album 'Moments to Remember'
* 1996The Gospel Midgets, "Leave It There" on the album 'Whatcha Gonna Do'
* 1996Rev. Oris Mays, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'The Milky White Way'
* 1997William Abney, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'Songs of Grace'
* 1998Clarence Clay and William Scott, "Take Your Burdens to the Lord" on the album 'Standing on the Highway'
* 1998Dwight Gordon, "Take Your Burden" on the album 'I've Been Waiting'
* 1998Rev. Raymond Wise and Family, "Leave It There" on the album 'Family: Singing Familiar Songs and Sayings'
* 1999Willie Eason with The Campbell Brothers, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'Sacred SteelLive!'
* 2000Soulful Heavenly Stars of New Orleans, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'Who We Are'
* 2000Sensational Southern Nightingales featuring Sidney Brown, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'God's Given Touch'
* 2001-N-Retro, "Leave It There" on the album 'Easy Listening Gospel'
* 2001Shirley Sydnour and Erik Trauner, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'I'll Fly Away'
* 2002Body of Baptized Believers, "Leave It There" on the album 'No Question'
* 2002Ehmandah, "Leave It There" on the album 'Spiritually Gifted: Speaking from the Soul'
* 2002Randall Goodgame, "Leave It There" on the album 'The Hymnal'
* 2002Rev. Phillip E. Knight, Sr., "Leave It There" on the album 'Save a Seat for Me'
* 2003Gaither Vocal Band, "Leave It There" on the album 'A Cappella'
* 2003Lynda Randle, "Leave It There" on the album 'Timeless'
* 2004Jay Jay Bell and Friends, "Leave It There on the album 'Lord Send Me, I'll Go'
* 2004Ray Skjelbred, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'Plays Blues & Boogie Woogie'
* 2005 The Grace Thrillers, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the albums 'He Brought Me Out' and 'Old Favourites'
* 2006The Baker Girls, "Leave It There" on the album 'Don't Let the Makeup Fool You '
* 2006John Cowan and Tony Rice, "Leave It There" on the album 'Voice of the Spirit, Gospel of the South'
* 2006Jessy Dixon, "Leave It There" on the album 'Homecoming Classics'
* 20072nd Chance, "Leave It There" on the album ' Heavenly Highway (The Highway to Heaven)'
* 2007A. Bruce Frazier, "Leave It There" on the album 'That Old Time Religion: Now and Then'
* 2007Barry Martyn, "Leave It There" on the album 'Jazz Hymn Fest'
* 2007Dudley Smith, "Leave It There" on the album 'Dudley Smith ... Is Havin' Church!'
* 2007Wings of Heaven, "Leave It There" on the album 'Upper Room Experience'
* 2008Bill Gaither, "Leave It There" on the DVD 'A Campfire Homecoming'
* 2008Kevin Gould, "Leave It There" on the album 'A Wineskin in the Smoke'
* 2009Lance Odegard, "Leave It There" on the album 'After a Long Hard Winter, It's Good to Go Home'
* 2010Otis Byrd, Jr and Adoration on the album 'The Experience'
* 2010Garden State Choral Chapter, "Leave It There" on the album 'Reunion'
* 2010Greg Lowery, "Leave It There" on the album '
* 2010Stan Whitmire, "Leave It There" on the album 'Shelter in the Storm'
* 2012Mississippi Chris Sharp, "Take Your Burden To the Lord and Leave It There" on the album 'Redbugs'
* 2012 Munirih Sparrow, "Leave It There" on the album 'Nightsong'
* 2013The Blind Boys of Alabama, "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" on the album 'I'll Find a Way'
* 2013Joey + Rory, "Leave It There" on the album 'Inspired: Songs of Faith & Family'
* 2013Stuart MacDonald, "Leave It There" on the album 'Leave It There'
* 2013Pig Irn, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album 'Sermons From the Church of Blues Restitution'
* 2014Sue Dodge, Lillie Knauls, Barbie Mason, The Stamps and J. D. Sumner, "Leave It There" on the album 'Bill Gaither's 30 Favorite Homecoming Hymns'. (This version must have been recorded before Sumner's death in 1998.)
* 2015DeBusk-Weaver Family, "Leave It There" on the album 'Ola Belle Reed and Southern Mountain Music on the Mason-Dixon Line'
* 2015Girish, "Leave It There" on the album 'Sky of the Heart'
Other songs
These songs have related titles to the Tindley song, but differ from it and from each other:
* 1965Pilgrim Jubilee Singers, "Take Your Burden to Jesus"; a different gospel song, perhaps based on the Tindley song
* 1995Odds, "Leave It There" on the album 'Good Weird Feeling'
* 1997F. C. Barnes, "Take Your Burden (to Jesus)" on the albums 'Keep Me All the Way' and 'A Live Reunion'; a different gospel song
* 2002Juanita Wynn, "Leave It There" on the album 'U Don't Know'; a different gospel song. It quotes the second line of the refrain of the Tindley song, and may have been inspired by it
* 2003Laura Frawley, "Leave It There" on the album 'Come Up Higher'; a different gospel song. It has some similarities of wording to the Tindley song, and may have been inspired by it
References
Category:American Christian hymns
Category:Blues songs
Category:Gospel songs
Category:Hymns by Charles Albert Tindley
Category:1916 songs
Category:Washington Phillips songs
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:Pace Jubilee Singers songs
Category:Victor Records singles
Category:Blind Willie Johnson songs
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