The Blind Boys of Alabama — People Get Ready
Album: Higher GroundAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 524
Length: 3:19
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People get ready
There's a train a-coming
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels humming
Don't need no ticket
You just thank the Lord
People get ready
For the train to Jordan
Picking up passengers
From coast to coast
Faith is the key
Open the doors and board them
There's room for all
among the loved the most
There ain't no room
for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just
To save his own
Have pity on those
whose chances are thinner
Cause there's no hiding place
From the Kingdom's Throne
So people get ready
for the train a-comin'
You don't need no baggage
you just get on board !
All you need is faith
to hear the diesels humming
Don't need no ticket
you just thank, you just thank the Lord
There's a train a-coming
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels humming
Don't need no ticket
You just thank the Lord
People get ready
For the train to Jordan
Picking up passengers
From coast to coast
Faith is the key
Open the doors and board them
There's room for all
among the loved the most
There ain't no room
for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just
To save his own
Have pity on those
whose chances are thinner
Cause there's no hiding place
From the Kingdom's Throne
So people get ready
for the train a-comin'
You don't need no baggage
you just get on board !
All you need is faith
to hear the diesels humming
Don't need no ticket
you just thank, you just thank the Lord
Comments (46)add comment
To me, the most misunderstood song to cover. It's ALWAYS played too slow, and with too much syrupy left-wing emotion, even by the Blind boys of Alabama. Chris Barber did the best version, which my poor dead father played often in the house (while he was alive). It was a happy, moderately fast version about a matter-of-fact request to 'get on board'. It wasn't sad or maudlin, just a war-baby's lament for peace, who knew it wasn't going to help anyway. One day someone will do it like Chris again and it will be brought back upon the pantheon of greatness it deserves to be, in the right tempo.
GeorgeMWoods wrote:
Let's see now. It's been 7 months between your post and my reply here. Clearly, no one wanted to address your idiocy.
So here goes my reply. Hold on tight! Ready? Okay...
No one gives a shit what you think.
Enjoy the song.
They’re frauds.
Let's see now. It's been 7 months between your post and my reply here. Clearly, no one wanted to address your idiocy.
So here goes my reply. Hold on tight! Ready? Okay...
No one gives a shit what you think.
Enjoy the song.
They’re frauds.
My fave...Chambers Bros...Please play it sometime!
The version of this song that I heard the most was that by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. I like this and of Curtis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdKEbnS1eBE
two words CURTIS MAYFIELD
two words CURTIS MAYFIELD
MrsTom wrote:
Does anyone else hear the stereo wobbling from one ear/speaker to the other? Especially at the start. I had to stop listening. Which was a shame because Elmo off Sesame Street was singing
Wow!...
Most excellent, thanks for the love BBoA.
Does anyone else hear the stereo wobbling from one ear/speaker to the other? Especially at the start. I had to stop listening. Which was a shame because Elmo off Sesame Street was singing
Wonderful. My heart is smiling at this. Thanks RP.
GawgaBoy wrote:
I can't believe anyone actually listened to Rod Stewart's cover of this... or anything.
Jeff Beck on guitar is what made Rod's version special.
I can't believe anyone actually listened to Rod Stewart's cover of this... or anything.
Jeff Beck on guitar is what made Rod's version special.
Don't love this. Love to hear Alabama Shakes doing it though.
dbinder101 wrote:
wow, who'd of known? it kind of sucks, wonder how their other cover sounds - Vanilla Fudge - Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
Vanilla Fudge (in 1968?) had a cover of this song on their first album...pure psychedelia!
wow, who'd of known? it kind of sucks, wonder how their other cover sounds - Vanilla Fudge - Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
surprised there needs to be a discussion here of being open to difference in music, faith, and the like. Great music is great music no matter the source of inspiration, i.e. Moslem, Jewish (my birth tradition), Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, or Atheist, etc.
Nice segue from Nadia. The Joss Stone track on Ronnie Scotts... Bill the Ninja 
And all the people said Amen
I think the Chambers Brothers did a very good version. If I remember correctly . . . or at all.
...an outstanding version of a great classic ...the BB are a joy to listen to
From Mavis Staples to this... beautiful, absolutely beautiful!
Peace to Every human being !
These guys rock. They put on one heck of a live show!
Sweet!
oldfart48 wrote:
for the same reason that African, Moslem, Jewish, Hindi and ALL other music is here, IT IS GREAT MUSIC.....
Agreed 10,000%
for the same reason that African, Moslem, Jewish, Hindi and ALL other music is here, IT IS GREAT MUSIC.....
Agreed 10,000%
Diamond_Dog wrote:
for the same reason that African, Moslem, Jewish, Hindi and ALL other music is here, IT IS GREAT MUSIC.....
Krishna, Allah, Buddha all, many supporters of RP wonder, like me, I'm sure, what is this song doing here..?
for the same reason that African, Moslem, Jewish, Hindi and ALL other music is here, IT IS GREAT MUSIC.....
Diamond_Dog wrote:
Art is about so many different things; after all, art is a reflection of humanity. Hopefully, we all have sources of inspiration; in this case, the Blind Boys have been inspired by their religious faith to make delightful music, and depending on my mood, my needs, and my setting, their music can be inspiring to me. Does that mean their inspirational font is mine too? Definitely not, but I can still be hugely impressed with their work. Yours is a very slippery slope: hidden down it lies things like Beck's work, the Rev. Al Green's music, Fateh Ali Khan's music, Mozart's Requiem, much of Bach's work, the entirety of Renaissance ecclesiastical architecture, and Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Bottom line: good is good, and great is great. Thanks for the play RP!
Krishna, Allah, Buddha all, many supporters of RP wonder, like me, I'm sure, what is this song doing here..?
Art is about so many different things; after all, art is a reflection of humanity. Hopefully, we all have sources of inspiration; in this case, the Blind Boys have been inspired by their religious faith to make delightful music, and depending on my mood, my needs, and my setting, their music can be inspiring to me. Does that mean their inspirational font is mine too? Definitely not, but I can still be hugely impressed with their work. Yours is a very slippery slope: hidden down it lies things like Beck's work, the Rev. Al Green's music, Fateh Ali Khan's music, Mozart's Requiem, much of Bach's work, the entirety of Renaissance ecclesiastical architecture, and Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Bottom line: good is good, and great is great. Thanks for the play RP!
Vanilla Fudge (in 1968?) had a cover of this song on their first album...pure psychedelia!
pcicatar wrote:
I can't believe anyone actually listened to Rod Stewart's cover of this... or anything.
I can't count the ways this covers beats Rod Stewart's!!!
I can't believe anyone actually listened to Rod Stewart's cover of this... or anything.
Diamond_Dog wrote:
Well... I don't wonder. Nice version of Curtis' song. Glad to hear it.
Krishna, Allah, Buddha all, many supporters of RP wonder, like me, I'm sure, what is this song doing here..?
Well... I don't wonder. Nice version of Curtis' song. Glad to hear it.
EXCELLENT !
Krishna, Allah, Buddha all, many supporters of RP wonder, like me, I'm sure, what is this song doing here..?
Very nice! .. Really like the Chambers Brothers doing this one as well
Relayer wrote:
It's (probably) Ben Harper.
Am I wrong in thinking that it is Beck on guitar? That solo sounds so much like him.
It's (probably) Ben Harper.
Am I wrong in thinking that it is Beck on guitar? That solo sounds so much like him.
I agree about that subsonic bass voice. My subwoofer purrs to it.
Rod the mod lived in Muswell Hill, north London. He used to play for Highgate Redwing football club. I played for the Muswell Hillbillies. He was quite handy, but was only fit enough for about 20 minutes. I remember one time him turning up in a Rolls Royce to play. At the pub, after the game, half the guys followed him into the loo, asking to see what was keeping Britt Ekland happy!
Coincidentally, the Kinks came from Muswell Hill. Ray Davies' sister was working at the local furniture shop when I lived there. She was very happy to tell anyone who listened that the single 'Come dancing' had been written for her. Sweet.
Rod the mod lived in Muswell Hill, north London. He used to play for Highgate Redwing football club. I played for the Muswell Hillbillies. He was quite handy, but was only fit enough for about 20 minutes. I remember one time him turning up in a Rolls Royce to play. At the pub, after the game, half the guys followed him into the loo, asking to see what was keeping Britt Ekland happy!
Coincidentally, the Kinks came from Muswell Hill. Ray Davies' sister was working at the local furniture shop when I lived there. She was very happy to tell anyone who listened that the single 'Come dancing' had been written for her. Sweet.
fredriley wrote:
One major way is that these guys can sing, unlike the Glasgow Gravedigger. I've preferred other Blind Boys tunes on RP, particularly where the bass guy goes nearly subsonic, but this is pleasant enough.
I thought ol' Roderick was from North London. "Glasgow Gravedigger" does have a better ring to it, though, and this version of the song is better.
One major way is that these guys can sing, unlike the Glasgow Gravedigger. I've preferred other Blind Boys tunes on RP, particularly where the bass guy goes nearly subsonic, but this is pleasant enough.
I thought ol' Roderick was from North London. "Glasgow Gravedigger" does have a better ring to it, though, and this version of the song is better.
Great singing, but that intro guitar going back in forth in the headphones made me dizzy.
Seems like an unnecessary gimmick when they have such awesome vocals.
Seems like an unnecessary gimmick when they have such awesome vocals.
pcicatar wrote:
One major way is that these guys can sing, unlike the Glasgow Gravedigger. I've preferred other Blind Boys tunes on RP, particularly where the bass guy goes nearly subsonic, but this is pleasant enough.
I can't count the ways this covers beats Rod Stewart's!!!
One major way is that these guys can sing, unlike the Glasgow Gravedigger. I've preferred other Blind Boys tunes on RP, particularly where the bass guy goes nearly subsonic, but this is pleasant enough.
I can't count the ways this covers beats Rod Stewart's!!!
Beautiful
God bless your mighty soul, Curtis Mayfield...
They sure can sing.
* cover of de song "People Get Ready" was a 1965 original by The Impressions
so many covers have this song!
Whole album is amazing. The power and grace of these guys comes through—-some of the original five are gone, but they spent their lives together making music.
They’re frauds.
You are a fool! They are the real deal! Open your ears and shut your eyes and mouth!