Camilla and I were on the road when I remembered this song and thought it would be a good one to record. I used my iBook and free cross platform software called Audacity along with my Samson C01U USB microphone. This is a great mic for the road because you don’t need an interface of any kind to record. You just plug into the USB jack and you’re good to go.
We discussed the song and decided make some changes. The original meaning of the song was inspired by John 5:4 in the Bible. “For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and troubled the water. Then whoever first stepped in after the troubling of the water was made whole of whatever disease he had.”
We changed the meaning to reflect Deuteronomy 31:3 “The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, [and] he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: [and] Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.”
Lyrics
[Am] Wade in the water
[Dm] Wade in the water [Am] children
[Am] Wade in the water
[C] God’s gonna [G] part the - [G] wa [Am] ter
Wade in the water
Wade in the water children
Wade in the water
God’s gonna part the - water[C]
Well who those children [G] dressed in [Am] red?
[C] God’s gonna [G] part the - [G] wa [Am] ter
[C] Must be the [G] children that Joshua [Am] led
[C] God’s gonna [G] part the - [G] wa [Am] ter
I said wade in the water
Wade in the water children
Wade in the water
God’s gonna part the - water
Now, who those children dressed in black?
God’s gonna part the water
Goin’ to the promised land and never comin’ back
God’s gonna part the water
Said wade in the water
Wade in the water children
Wade in the water
God’s gonna part the - water
Well who those children dressed in green?
God’s gonna part the water
They’re marching to a land they never have seen
God’s gonna part the water
Wade in the water
Wade in the water children
Wade in the water
God’s gonna part the - water
Well who those children dressed in white?
God’s gonna part the water
They must be the children called Israelites
God’s gonna part the water
I said wade in the water
Wade in the water children
Wade in the water
God’s gonna part the - water
Wade in the water
Wade in the water children
Wade in the water
God’s gonna part the - water
God’s gonna part the - water
God’s gonna part the - water
(c) 2006
New lyrics by Roger McGuinn - McGuinn Music (BMI)
Camilla McGuinn - April First Music (ASCAP)
The purpose of the Folk Den is to use the medium of the World Wide Web to continue the tradition of the folk process, that is the telling of stories, and singing of songs, passed on from one generation to another, by word of mouth.
In this electronic era, such a process is in danger of being overwhelmed by the commercial mass media. This page and others on the 'net are working to preserve the folk songs that have chronicled our global heritage for centuries.
In the Folk Den, a "new" folk song is uploaded every month as a "Global Community Service."
