Scripture Verse

To the place the streams come from, there they return again. Ecclesiastes 1:7

Introduction

Words & Mu­sic: Ed­ward C. Av­is, in Sac­red Me­lo­dies (Re­vised) (An­der­son­ville, Ten­nes­see: E. C. Av­is, 1889) (🔊 pdf nwc). From an in­ci­dent oc­cur­ring in one of the South­ern States dur­ing the yel­low fever. Pos­sib­ly the words were in­spired by the 1873 and 1878 yel­low fe­ver epi­de­mics in Mem­phis, Ten­nes­see, which killed over 7,000.

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Av­is (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Two lit­tle child­ren were stroll­ing one day,
Down by a clear ri­ver side;
One came up to a boatman and said,
Row me over the tide.

Refrain

Row me over the tide,
Row me over the tide,
Loved ones are wait­ing for me on the strand,
Row me ov­er the tide.

We are so poor, and so hun­gry and cold,
We have no place to abide;
Papa and Ma­ma and Nel­lie are gone;
Row us ov­er the tide.

Refrain

Dear Ma­ma told lit­tle Char­lie one day,
Jesus would care for her child;
But we are tired of wait­ing so long,
Row us ov­er the tide.

Refrain

Two lit­tle faces no more we shall see,
Sweetly they sleep side by side;
Jesus, so full of com­pas­sion and love,
Rowed them ov­er the tide.

Refrain