Down by the Riverside

For the film, see Down by the Riverside (film).

For the short story by Richard Wright, see Uncle Tom's Children.

"Down by the Riverside" (also known as "Ain't Gonna Study War No More" and "Gonna lay down my burden") is a Negro spiritual song. Its roots date back to before the American Civil War, though it was first published in 1918 in Plantation Melodies: A Collection of Modern, Popular and Old-time Negro-Songs of the Southland, Chicago, the Rodeheaver Company. The song has alternatively been known as “Ain' go'n' to study war no mo'”, “Ain't Gwine to Study War No More”, “Down by de Ribberside”, “Going to Pull My War-Clothes” and “Study war no more”. The song was first recorded by the Fisk University Jubilee Quartet in 1920 (published by Columbia in 1922). and there are at least 14 black gospel recordings before World War II.

Because of its pacifistic imagery, "Down by the Riverside" has also been used as an anti-war protest song, especially during the Vietnam War.

Lyrics

The song has many lyrical variations, though usually each stanza follows a standard form, with one sentence that differs from one stanza to the next. The song often begins:

Gonna lay down my burden
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside.
Gonna lay down my burden
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside.

Chorus:
I ain't gonna study war no more
study war no more
ain't gonna study war no more.
I ain't gonna study war no more
study war no more
ain't gonna study oh war no more.

Other lines that can appear in stanzas, in place of "Gonna lay down my burden", include:

• Gonna lay down my sword and shield
• Gonna stick my sword in the golden sand
• Gonna try on my long white robe
• Gonna try on my starry crown
• Gonna put on my golden shoes
• Gonna talk with the Prince of Peace
• Gonna shake hands around the world
• Gonna cross the river Jordan
• Gonna climb upon that mountain
• Gonna climb the road to heaven

Meaning

The song's central image is of casting off negativity and aggression, and putting on spiritual garb, at the side of a river before crossing it. The image has several meanings: it refers to baptism, which in the Southern Baptist tradition usually involves wearing a white robe and being submerged in a body of water. It also refers to ascending to heaven after death, using the metaphor of the River Jordan, which in the Old Testament was the final passage before the Hebrews entered the Promised Land after their years in the desert. As with many Negro spirituals, the biblical imagery can also be read as a hidden allusion to escaping slavery, with the river representing the Ohio River, which was a border between states where slavery was allowed and prohibited before the American Civil War.

The refrain of "ain't gonna study war no more" is a reference to a quotation found in the Old Testament: "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." This quote occurs twice in the Bible, in Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3, and is part of the swords to ploughshares motif.

Recordings

Artists who have recorded the song include:

• Al Hirt released a version on his 1961 album, He's the King and His Band and a live version on his 1965 album, Live at Carnegie Hall
• American R&B and boogie-woogie pianist and singer Little Willie Littlefield recorded a version for his 1997 album The Red One.
• Arty Hall & His Radio Rubes, 1937
• Big Bill Broonzy, 1952
• Bunk Johnson, 1942
• Chimène Badi, 2011 (Gospel & Soul album)
• Chris Barber´s Jazz Band, 1954
• Clara Ward
• Benjamin Luxton & David Willison, 1924
• C. Mae Frierson Moore, 1925
• Dixie Jubilee Singers, 1928
• Dorothy Love Coates
• Dustbowl Revival, 2014
• Elvis Presley (on Frankie and Johnny and Million Dollar Quartet)
• Frederic Rzewski (a classical piano version)
• Golden Gate Quartet
• Grandpa Elliott and other artists (Playing for Change project), 2014
• James Francis "Jimmy" Durante
• Jimmie Lunceford & his Orchestra, 1940
• Louis Armstrong (on Hello Louis! and Louis and the Good Book)
• Lead Belly
• Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, 1927
• Mahalia Jackson
• Million Dollar Quartet, Broadway musical and original cast recording
• Michael Penn (on Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947)
• Missouri Pacific Diamond Jubilee Quartette, 1927
• Morehouse College Quartet, 1923
• Mustard & Gravy 'Dixie's Tastiest Combination', 1938
• Nat King Cole
• Norfolk Jazz & Jubilee Quartets, 1927
• Oscar Celestine, 1928
• Pete Seeger
• Peter, Paul & Mary (on Around the Campfire)
• Raffi (on Bananaphone)
• Roy Hamilton
• Sam Morgan´s Jazz Band, 1927
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe (included in the U.S. National Recording Registry)
• Snooks Eaglin, 1960
• Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
• Sweet Honey in the Rock (on We All...Everyone Of Us)
• Taj Mahal, 2013 (on United & Divided, ATO Records)
• The Blind Boys of Alabama (on Amazing Grace and Down in New Orleans)
• The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
• The Golden Echo Boys [Of God's Bible School] 1930.
• The Kingpins
• The Ramblin' Riversiders
• The Seekers
• Trini Lopez
• Van Morrison (on the CD reissue of Tupelo Honey)
• Vaughan Quartet, 1924
• Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis on their 2008 live album, Two Men with the Blues

Soundtrack appearances

The song was featured as a DLC in the Nintendo Wii game Just Dance 2 and Just Dance 3

It was used as background music in two episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants known as "Survival of the Idiots" and "Selling Out."

Parodies and alternate lyrics

The song was the basis of an Allan Sherman parody called "Don't Buy the Liverwurst". The tune of "Down by the Riverside" was also used in a McDonald's's 1960s jingle, "McDonald's Is My Kind of Place". In episode 72 of the animated television series Animaniacs, this song was parodied as "U.N. Me" about the United Nations Headquarters and was later released on their 2nd album, "Yakko's World". In the UK on some local radio stations (namely Mix 107), a song about eco friendly travel choices (i.e. leaving the car for one day a week) would air during commercial breaks which would be a parody of Down By The Riverside. JibJab also used the melody in a song about the year 2012 in review (called "2012: The End Is Here!"). An episode of Liv & Maddie had Liv singing a song about her musical group with senior citizens, "The Golden Chords, " at a retirement home, to the tune of this song.