This beloved gospel hymn has become one of the most requested songs of all time and, consequently, dreaded by jazz musicians. 'When the Saints Go Marching In' was composed by James Black with lyrics by Katherine Purvis and copyrighted in 1896, although it has its roots in African-American spirituals. Black was a songleader and Sunday school teacher who edited gospel songbooks and Purvis was a music teacher at Methodist Episcopal Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Traditionally, the song has been used as a funeral march played as a slow dirge during a funeral procession bringing the coffin to the cemetery. Leaving the cemetery, the song is played in an upbeat, hot, dixieland style to express the joy of coming home "when the new world is revealed." Louis Armstrong brought "the Saints" to national recognition when he first recorded it in 1938. His sister told him it was inappropriate for him to turn the traditional hymn into secular dance tune. The song has become so popular that jazz musicians call it "the monster" because it gets requested multiple times a night.
Louis Armstrong
Fats Domino
Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli
Tony Sheridan & The Beatles
Elvis Presley
Hal Linden on 'the Muppet Show'
Bruce Springsteen
We are trav'ling in the footsteps
Of those who've gone before,
And we'll all be reunited,
On a new and sunlit shore,
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Lord, how I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
And when the sun refuse to shine
And when the sun refuse to shine
Lord, how I want to be in that number
When the sun refuse to shine
And when the moon turns red with blood
And when the moon turns red with blood
Lord, how I want to be in that number
When the moon turns red with blood
Oh, when the trumpet sounds its call
Oh, when the trumpet sounds its call
Lord, how I want to be in that number
When the trumpet sounds its call
Some say this world of trouble,
Is the only one we need,
But I'm waiting for that morning,
When the new world is revealed.
Oh When the new world is revealed
Oh When the new world is revealed
Lord, how I want to be in that number
When the new world is revealed
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Lord, how I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
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