TED2016
Rhiannon Giddens: Songs that bring history to life
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Rhiannon Giddens pours the emotional weight of American history into her music. Listen as she performs traditional folk ballads -- including "Waterboy," "Up Above My Head," and "Lonesome Road" by Sister Rosetta Tharp -- and one glorious original song, "Come Love Come," inspired by Civil War-era slave narratives.
Rhiannon Giddens - Musician
With a rich voice and an equally rich sense of history, Rhiannon Giddens animates American folk tradition with her electrifying song interpretations. Full bio
With a rich voice and an equally rich sense of history, Rhiannon Giddens animates American folk tradition with her electrifying song interpretations. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
(Sings)
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00:14
Water
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Boy
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(Guitar strum)
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where are you hidin'?
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(Guitar strum)
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If you don't come right here,
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I'm gonna tell
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your pa on you.
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(Guitar strum)
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There ain't no hammer --
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(Guitar strum)
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that's on this mountain
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(Guitar strum)
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That ring like mine, boy --
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(Guitar strum)
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that ring like mine.
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01:01
(Guitar strum)
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I'm gonna bust this rock, boy --
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(Guitar strum)
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from here to Macon.
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(Guitar strum)
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All the way to the jail, boy --
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(Guitar strum)
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all the way to the jail.
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(Guitar strum)
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You jack of diamonds --
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(Music)
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you jack of diamonds
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I know you of old boy,
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I know you of old.
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You done robbed my pocket,
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you done robbed my pocket
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of silver and gold, boy,
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of silver and gold.
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02:02
Water Boy,
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where are you hidin'?
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If you don't come right here,
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I'm gonna tell your pa on you.
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There ain't no hammer
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that's on this mountain
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that ring like mine, boy,
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that ring like mine.
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I'm gonna bust this rock, boy,
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from here to Macon.
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All the way to the jail, boy,
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all the way to the jail.
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Water
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Boy
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(Guitar strum)
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where are you hidin'?
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(Guitar strum)
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If you don't come right here,
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if you don't come right here,
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if you don't come right here,
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I'm gonna tell
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your pa
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on you.
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(Guitar strum)
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(Applause)
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Thank you.
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That was a song based on
numerous work songs,
numerous work songs,
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and it was arranged by Odetta,
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a hero of mine.
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And this next song, well,
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I do a lot of historical music,
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starting with the Carolina Chocolate Drops
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and continuing on in my solo endeavors.
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And I believe that knowing
your history as a musician
your history as a musician
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is super important --
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it's important as a person,
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it's important as a country,
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it's important as a people.
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So I read a lot about where
the music comes from
the music comes from
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and where this country comes from.
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I've been reading a lot
about the Civil War
about the Civil War
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and about slavery.
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And it's really tough.
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You know?
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It's really tough reading.
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And so as an artist,
what I do with all that emotion,
what I do with all that emotion,
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reading these people's stories,
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not just, "Oh, slavery was terrible."
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Yes, it was.
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But it's reading individual narratives
of how it was for these people.
of how it was for these people.
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You know?
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Then it's like, "Yeah,
that could've been me."
that could've been me."
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And it is people now. You know?
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So what you do with all that emotion
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is you've got to do something with it.
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As an artist, I write.
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So I wrote a song based on
some of those narratives that I read,
some of those narratives that I read,
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and it's called, "Come Love Come."
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We're going to do it for you now.
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(Claps)
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(Sings) Come love come,
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the road lies low,
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the way is long and hard, I know.
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Come love come,
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the road lies free,
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I'll wait for you in Tennessee.
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(Music)
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(Sings) When I was four,
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my loving mam was cornered
by the boss's man.
by the boss's man.
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She turned her head and got struck down,
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they buried her in the cold, cold ground.
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Come love come,
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the road lies low,
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the way is long and hard, I know.
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Come love come,
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the road lies free,
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I'll wait for you in Tennessee.
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(Music)
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When I was 12,
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my father dear
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was strong of arm and free of fear
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until the day he raised his hand,
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then he was sold to Alabama.
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Come love come,
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the road lies low,
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the way is long and hard, I know.
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Come love come,
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the road lies free,
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I'll wait for you in Tennessee.
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(Music)
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When I was 16, found my bloom
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and found my man,
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we jumped the broom.
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We pledged each other
the rest of our lives
the rest of our lives
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and on Saturday nights
we were man and wife.
we were man and wife.
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Come love come,
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the road lies low,
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the way is long and hard, I know.
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Come love come,
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the road lies free,
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I'll wait for you in Tennessee.
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(Music)
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When I was 18,
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bugles called
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and boys in blue came o'er the wall.
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I took my chance and followed free,
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they led the way to Tennessee.
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Come love come,
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the road lies low,
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the way is long and hard, I know.
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Come love come,
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the road lies free,
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I'll wait for you in Tennessee.
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(Music)
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Now here I sit in a tiny shack
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with 13 others at my back.
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I've sent you word,
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so all I can do
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is wait and wait and wait and wait
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and wait
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and wait for you.
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Come love come,
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the road lies low,
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the way is long and hard, I know.
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Come love come,
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the road lies free,
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I'll wait for you in Tennessee.
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Come love come,
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the road lies low,
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the way is long and hard, I know.
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Come love come,
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the road lies free,
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I'll wait for you in Tennessee.
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Oh,
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oh,
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oh.
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Whoa ... oh I'll wait for you.
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I'll wait for you.
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I'll wait for you
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I'll wait for you.
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(Applause)
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Thank you.
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So, with the dark
you have to have the light.
you have to have the light.
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And in the African-American community,
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it's been the work of many
hundreds of years
hundreds of years
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to find a way to lift ourselves up.
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So I'm going to end with a couple
of tunes from Sister Rosetta Tharpe,
of tunes from Sister Rosetta Tharpe,
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one of the more influential
American music figures
American music figures
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that most of you probably never heard of.
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If you have, I'm so happy.
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She's one of the innovators
of rock 'n' roll guitar,
of rock 'n' roll guitar,
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and one of the first crossover artists
from gospel to secular.
from gospel to secular.
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She's an incredibly important figure,
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and I'm going to talk about her
whenever I can.
whenever I can.
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So these are a couple of her tunes.
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And don't worry -- you're going to get
your chance to sing.
your chance to sing.
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(Music)
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(Sings) Look down, look down
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that lonesome road
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before you travel on.
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Look up, look up
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and greet your maker,
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for Gabriel blows his horn.
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Weary totin' such a load,
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goin' down that lonesome road.
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Look down that lonesome road,
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before you travel on.
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Look down, look down
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that lonesome road
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before you travel on.
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Look up, look up
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and greet your maker,
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for Gabriel blows his horn.
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Weary totin' such a load,
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goin' down that lonesome road.
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Look down, look down, look down, look down
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that lonesome road
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before you travel on.
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Up above my head
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up above my head
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I hear music in the air
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music in the air.
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Up above my head
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up above my head
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I hear music in the air
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I hear music in the air.
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Up above my head
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up above my head
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I hear music in the air
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music in the air
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and I really do believe
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I really do believe
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there's a Heaven somewhere.
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Up above my head
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up above my head
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I hear singin' in the air
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singin' in the air.
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Up above my head
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up above my head
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I hear singin' in the air
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I hear singin' in the air.
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Up above my head
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up above my head
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I hear singin' in the air
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singin' in the air
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and I really do believe
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I really do believe
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there's a Heaven somewhere.
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(Speaks) All right now, guitar man!
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(Guitar music)
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That's Hubby Jenkins, y'all.
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(Sings) Up above my head
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up above my head
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I hear shoutin' in the air
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shoutin' in the air.
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Up above my head
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up above my head
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I hear shoutin' in the air
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I hear shoutin' in the air.
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Up above my head
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up above my head
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I hear shoutin' in the air, that's right,
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and I really do believe
I really do believe
I really do believe
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there's a heaven somewhere.
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(Speaks) All right now,
give me some of that bass.
give me some of that bass.
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(Bass solo)
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Yeah!
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Woo!
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Jason Sypher on the bass.
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Jamie Dick on those drums.
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All right now,
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I'm running out of time.
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So it's time for y'all to sing.
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This is the call-and-response.
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I call, you respond.
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There are so many songs like this,
y'all know how it goes, don't you?
y'all know how it goes, don't you?
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You're going to sing along?
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I said, are you going to sing along?
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Audience members: Yes!
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Rhiannon Giddens: Here we go!
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(Sings) Up above my head
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AM: up above my head
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RG: music in the air
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AM: music in the air.
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RG: up above my head
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13:46
AM: up above my head
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RG: music in the air
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13:49
AM: music in the air
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13:50
RG: up above my head
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13:51
AM: up above my head
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RG: music in the air
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AM: music in the air
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RG: and I really do believe
I really do believe
I really do believe
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there's a heaven somewhere.
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One more time!
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Up above my head
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AM: up above my head
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RG: I hear music in the air
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AM: music in the air.
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RG: Up above my head
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AM: up above my head
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14:07
RG: I hear music in the air
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AM: music in the air.
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RG: Up above my head
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AM: up above my head
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RG: I hear music in the air
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AM: music in the air
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RG: and I really do believe
I really do believe
I really do believe
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there's a heaven somewhere.
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I said I really do believe
I really do believe
I really do believe
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there's a heaven somewhere.
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Heaven somewhere.
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(Holds note)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rhiannon Giddens - MusicianWith a rich voice and an equally rich sense of history, Rhiannon Giddens animates American folk tradition with her electrifying song interpretations.
Why you should listen
Singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens is the co-founder of the Grammy-winning string band, Carolina Chocolate Drops, playing banjo and fiddle. Giddens's 201 Grammy-nominated solo debut, Tomorrow Is My Turn, blends gospel, jazz, blues and country, showcasing her dazzling vocal prowess. Her follow-up album, Freedom Highway, largely comprised of original songs, was released to widespread critical acclaim in February 2017.
Giddens performed at the Obama White House and duets with country star Eric Church on his powerful anti-racism hit "Kill a Word." In 2016, she received the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Singer of the Year and the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Bluegrass and Banjo. Giddens also has a recurring role on the recently revived television drama Nashville.
Rhiannon Giddens | Speaker | TED.com