Artist: Fisk University Jubilee Quartet
Author: traditional
Year: 1920
As religious spiritual I Ain't Gonna Study War No More. The peace connotation came later, although they also "lay down their arms, down by the riverside" in one of their verses. The oldest 'Down by the river' lyric line came in a campfire song published in 1898. No sheetmusic version survived the first World War (1918), so claiming the song existed since the American Civil War (or even since antebellum days) is purely hypothetical. Not before Carl Sandburg published the song in his most influential American Songbag (1927) did it really infiltrate the Civil Rights Movement and Peace Movements worldwide. The lyrics paraphrase Prophet Isaiah (Chapter 2, verse 4): "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore".
Covers:
Elkins-Payne Jubilee Singers [reissued on Document]
Benjamin Luxton & David Willison [bariton & piano]
Sister Rosetta Tharpe [with Lucky Millinder's Orchestra; version inspiring both the Civil Rights Movement and the peace movement]
Eddy Christiani [as Daar Bij De Waterkant]
Black & White [as Daar Bij De Waterkant]
Ken Colyer's Skiffle Group [with Alexis Korner on guitar]
Compagnons De La Chanson [as Qu'il fait beau vivre; hit Fr]
Will Tura [as Vrienden Voor 't Leven]
Elvis Presley [in film Frankie & Johnny]
Van Morrison [outtake Tupelo Honey]
Brendan Croker [highlight of his protest song concept What Part Of NO Is It You Don't Understand?]
If you noticed blunt omissions, mis-interpretations or even out-and-out errors,
please let me know:
Arnold Rypens
Rozenlaan 65
B-2840 Reet (Rumst)