This song was originally recorded by Arthur Collins sometime
in the early 1900’s. I've seen it listed as 1905, which puts it in the category
of a waxed cylinder. It was recorded 2 more times by Claude Hopkins in 1935 and
then the Golden Gate Quartet in 1937. It
didn't do much after that for about 12 years until Phil Harris recorded it in
the 1947, the same year as the Jubalaires recorded theirs. (I’ll wager that
their recording preceded Mr. Harris’.)
It was the Jubalaires who really immortalized the song. That’s
the group you see singing it here. This film is from shortly after the records
release. It was later covered by artists such as the Big Bopper in 1958, and
then many more, including; The New Christy Minstrels in 1962; Jerry Reed in 1971;
Jim Kweskin in 1979; David Holt in 1986; and also the Robert Decormier Singers in
1996. I’m sure there are many others, but these seem to be the most well-known
versions.
The Jubalaires were a gospel oriented group from Florida
originally comprised of Orville Brooks, Ted Brooks, Caleb Ginyard and George
McFadden. At times the group included J.C. "Junior" Caleb Ginyard and
even Willie Johnson. There have been many incarnations of the group over the
decades since these men performed, all calling themselves some sort of derivative
of the Jubalaires name. There are the Fairfax Jubalaires, the Sunset Jubalaires
and etc. They all perform reasonably well, in the same style as the original
Jubalaires, which is reminiscent of the Mills Brothers, with their tight
harmonies sounding almost as one voice with different layers.
The group originally recorded under the name of The Royal
Harmony Singers, beginning in 1936. In 1941 they relocated to Philadelphia. At
that time the group was composed of Brooks as baritone; Willie Wright as tenor;
Elijah Wright as bass; (he was soon replaced by Biggie McFadden); and the
talented Billie Lee Johnson joined as guitarist in 1946. There had been quite a
few others on guitar before him, but his style complimented the groups vocals
in a way no other guitarist had done before.
The groups greatest success came in 1942 with their hit
recording of “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” which reached #10 on the
R&B charts for the week of November 14, 1942.
By 1946 the group was appearing on shows such as Arthur
Godfrey’s radio program on CBS. A short time after that Willie Johnson left the
Golden Gate Quartet to become leader of the Jubalaires. They recorded on Decca,
King and even Capital Records.
For a more lengthy history of this group please use the following
link;
Note: You will have to scroll about halfway down the page
before you see the Jubalaires, but it’s worth the trip as the article is much
more detailed than my own.
The song itself is about a Preacher who goes hunting on the
Sabbath, knowing that it’s wrong. He encounters a bear larger than he can
handle and finds himself supplicating the Lord to help him in his time of need,
all the while knowing he has left his own flock to fend for themselves.
THE PREACHER
AND THE BEAR
(Traditional / Joe Arzonia)
The preacher went out a huntin’, it was on one Sunday
morn’
It was against his religion, but he took a shotgun along
He got himself a mess o’ mighty fine quail and one old
scraggly hare
And on the way home he crossed the path of a great big
grizzly bear
Well the bear got down lookin’ ready to charge
The preacher never seen nothin’ quite that large
They looked each other right smack in the eye
Didn’t take that preacher long to say bye
The preacher, he run till he spotted a tree
He said, "Up in that tree’s where I oughta be"
By the time that bear made a grab for him
The preacher was a sittin’ on top a that limb
Scared to death, he turned about
He looked to the sky and began to shout
"Hey lord, you delivered Daniel from the bottom of
the lion’s den
You delivered Jonah from the belly of the whale and then
The Hebrew children from the fiery furnace
So the good books do declare
Hey lord, if you can’t help me,
For goodness sake don’t help that bear"
Yea, look out preacher!
Well, about that time the limb broke off
And the preacher came tumblin’ down
Had a straight razor out of his pocket
By the time he lit on the ground
He landed on his feet right in front of that bear
And Lord, what an awful fight
The preacher and the bear and the razor and the hair
Flyin’ from left to right
Well first they was up and then they was down
The preacher and the bear runnin’ round an’ round
The bear he roared, and the the preacher he groaned
He was havin’ a tough time holdin’ his own!
He said, "Lord if I get out a here alive
To the good book I’ll abide
No more huntin’ on the Sabbath day
Come Sunday I’m headin’ to the church to pray"
Up to the heavens the preacher glanced
He said, "Lord won’t you give me just one more
chance"
So the preacher got away, he looked around
Seen a tree where he’d be safe and sound
Jumped on a limb, turned about
Looked to the sky and began to shout
"Hey lord, you delivered Daniel from the bottom of
the lion’s den
You delivered Jonah from the belly of the whale and then
The Hebrew children from the fiery furnace
So the good books do declare
Hey lord, if you can’t help me,
For goodness sake don’t help that bear"
Great write up on the Jubalaires. I've only recently been reading about and listening to music that includes Orville Brooks. Is Ted Brooks his relative? This song is fantastic. I also just found a record on ebay that I bid on. I'm very excited to add it to my collection.
ReplyDeleteSorry I don't know the answer to that question. Great music and glad to know that people still appreciate lyrics! Thanks for the comment and hope you keep reading stuff on here....
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