![]() In 1957, the Folksmiths sang it for campers while they roasted marshmallows. You might be familiar with the song “Kumbaya” because of its popularity at summer camps. Gordon was the founder of the Archive of American Folk-Song, and the manuscript containing the first known recording of “Kumbaya” was among the first original materials to be deposited in the archive in 1928. The version of “Kumbaya” was in Boyd’s manuscript collection of folk songs, and he shared it with a man named Robert Winslow Gordon. Boyd eventually became the head librarian and a history professor at Princeton University. He amassed a large collection of music during his single year of teaching in the community of Alliance, North Carolina. Boyd had students collect traditional songs from the folks they knew in their rural community. One of the archived versions was collected by folklore collector Julian Parks Boyd. Gullah is the creole language that was spoken by the formerly enslaved Africans and their descendants who live on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia and in the Bahamas. There are two versions of the song that relate to the Gullah Geechee region were collected in 1926, and both versions are archived in the American Folklife Center.Īround this same time, members of the Society for the Preservation of Spirituals collected a version from the South Carolina coast that was sung in Gullah. Some scholars believe the song originated in the Gullah Geechee region. Check out some of the singers and artists that have covered this historical song: Later, the song would be a star in the folk revival of the 1950s, and dozens of artists have made recordings of the song giving it even broader popularity. It is his most popular song, but he also wrote other popular titles such as:įrey claimed that he wrote the song after being inspired by prayer he heard from a storefront evangelist in Portland, Oregon. ![]() Frey is credited as the writer of “Kum Ba Yah.” He wrote the song when he was 17 while he was attending a Christian Crusade camp. Most commonly, the songwriter and clergyman Rev. Given the history of the slave trade, it is entirely plausible that the song has an African origin before it became an African American spiritual. If you consider that Israel is the primary Hebrew-speaking country and it is the crossroads between Africa, Europe, and Asia, it makes sense that the language would have been spread throughout the neighboring lands. Yah or yä – The name of the Eternal God.Through the TheoriesĪccording to some, each word in the song title “ Kumbaya” is a Hebrew word. According to the United States Library of Congress, there are several theories on the origin of this popular song. The history of the word kumbaya is disputed. Others feel it is simply a corruption of the English phrase, “Come by here.” Whatever the opinion, it is a familiar song of linear notes. It is easy to imagine the song’s evocations of spiritual unity as sung by formerly enslaved people. The song is often known by other titles such as:įor most, the song is a prayerful plea for compassion. Looking at the origin stories of the song and the meaning of each word may help you to gain further understanding of the word and what it means historically. Some might say that what it means to each person is subjective. Kumbaya or “ kum ba yah” is the title of an African American spiritual. Let’s learn more about the fun word (and song!) kumbaya! What Is the Meaning of Kumbaya? You may even start to sprinkle the word into your speech and text. When you learn the definitions, pronunciations, and etymology of words that you either only ever hear or read you broaden your understanding and increase your vocabulary. If you’ve only ever heard a word, you may not recognize it when you read it. If you’ve only ever read a word, you may not always know how to pronounce it.
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