There's a Meeting Here Tonight

"There's a Meeting Here Tonight"
"There's a Meeting Here Tonight"
Song
Genre	Hymnal, Traditional

There's a Meeting Here Tonight was a hymnal sung by enslaved Americans to alert other enslaved persons of planned meetings.^[1]^[2]

1 Get you ready, there’s a meeting here tonight,

Come along there’s a meeting here tonight,
I know you by your daily walk,
There’s a meeting here tonight.

2 Oh, hallelujah, to the lamb,
There’s a meeting here tonight,
For the Lord is on the given hand,
There’s a meeting here tonight.

3 If ever I reach the mountain top,
I'll praise my Lord and never stop,
Get you ready, there’s a meeting here tonight.

4 Go down to the river when you're dry
And there you'll get your full supply,
Get ready, there’s a meeting here tonight.

5 You may hinder me here,
But you cannot there,
God sits in heaven
And he answers prayer.

There’s a meeting here tonight.

References

↑ Robinson, William H. (1913). From Log Cabin to The Pulpit: or Fifteen Years in Slavery. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, REV. W. H. ROBINSON, Reminiscences of my early life - while in slavery. DEDICATED TO MY DAUGHTER, MARGUERITE. JAMES H. TIFFT, PUBLISHING PRINTER, EAU CLAIRE, WIS. Pages 79 and 80. Retrieved 2024-01-01. The slaves would have to. devise many. schemes in order to serve God. Of course they had church once or twice a month, but some white man would do the preaching, and his text would always be, Servants obey your masters," But this was not what our people wanted to hear, so they would congregate after the white people had retired, when you would see them with their cooking utensils, pots and kettles, go into a swamp and put the pots and kettles on the fence, with the mouths turned toward the worshipers. They would sing and pray, the kettles catching the sound. In this 'way they were not detected. I did not learn until just before the war why Wate carried the vessels with them to worship. In order to notify the slaves on other farms when there was going to be a meeting they would sing this song, and the slaves would understand what it meant. White people would think they were only singing for amusement:- "Get you ready, there's a meeting here tonight." Matt. £16. 1 Get you ready, there's a meeting here tonight, Come along there's a meeting here tonight, I know you by your daily walk, There's a meeting here tonight. 2 Oh, hallelujah, to the lamb, There's a meeting here tonight, For the Lord is on the given hand, There's a meeting here tonight.
↑ "There's a Meeting Here Tonight". The Hymnary. The Hymnary. Retrieved 2024-01-01.

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[1] Robinson, William H. (1913). From Log Cabin to The Pulpit: or Fifteen Years in Slavery. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, REV. W. H. ROBINSON, Reminiscences of my early life - while in slavery. DEDICATED TO MY DAUGHTER, MARGUERITE. JAMES H. TIFFT, PUBLISHING PRINTER, EAU CLAIRE, WIS. Pages 79 and 80. Retrieved 2024-01-01. The slaves would have to. devise many. schemes in order to serve God. Of course they had church once or twice a month, but some white man would do the preaching, and his text would always be, Servants obey your masters," But this was not what our people wanted to hear, so they would congregate after the white people had retired, when you would see them with their cooking utensils, pots and kettles, go into a swamp and put the pots and kettles on the fence, with the mouths turned toward the worshipers. They would sing and pray, the kettles catching the sound. In this 'way they were not detected. I did not learn until just before the war why Wate carried the vessels with them to worship. In order to notify the slaves on other farms when there was going to be a meeting they would sing this song, and the slaves would understand what it meant. White people would think they were only singing for amusement:- "Get you ready, there's a meeting here tonight." Matt. £16. 1 Get you ready, there's a meeting here tonight, Come along there's a meeting here tonight, I know you by your daily walk, There's a meeting here tonight. 2 Oh, hallelujah, to the lamb, There's a meeting here tonight, For the Lord is on the given hand, There's a meeting here tonight.

[2] "There's a Meeting Here Tonight". The Hymnary. The Hymnary. Retrieved 2024-01-01.

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