Ain't No Grave (also known as Gonna Hold This Body Down) is a traditional
American gospel song attributed to
Claude Ely
"Brother" Claude Ely (July 22, 1922 – May 7, 1978) was an American Appalachian religious singer-songwriter and a Pentecostal Holiness preacher.
Brother Claude Daniel Ely, coined as the King Recording Label's "Gospel Ranger" of the Appalachia ...
(19221978) of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
History
Claude Ely
"Brother" Claude Ely (July 22, 1922 – May 7, 1978) was an American Appalachian religious singer-songwriter and a Pentecostal Holiness preacher.
Brother Claude Daniel Ely, coined as the King Recording Label's "Gospel Ranger" of the Appalachia ...
, a songwriter and preacher from Virginia, describes composing the song while sick with
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
in 1934 when he was twelve years old. His family prayed for his health, and in response he spontaneously performed this song. Originally recorded by Bozie Sturdivant in July 1942 (and released in 1943 as "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down") in a slower, African American gospel style and in 1946-7 by Sister Rosetta Tharpe with barrelhouse piano;
the song in Ely's version was recorded (and copyrighted) in 1953, even though he wrote it as early as 1935.
Artists covering the song
![At San quentin 1969 2014-05-04 00-14](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/At_San_quentin_1969_2014-05-04_00-14.jpg)
Many notable artists have performed the song. The slower, black gospel melody was used by Tharpe into the 1960s, and covered by folksinger Rolf Cahn, and gospel artist Liz McComb. In 1967, the song was featured in the film ''
Cool Hand Luke
''Cool Hand Luke'' is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Paul Newman and featuring George Kennedy in an Oscar-winning performance. Newman stars in the title role as Luke, a prisoner in a Florida prison cam ...
'' while Luke (
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...
) is digging a grave, performed by
Harry Dean Stanton
Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer.
In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including '' Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroe ...
. The lines "Meet me, Jesus, meet me / Won't you meet me in the middle of the air / And if my wings should fail me, Lord / Won't you provide me with another pair" in some recorded versions (including the one by Johnny Cash) are shared with some recorded versions of the traditional song "
In My Time of Dying
"In My Time of Dying" (also called "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" or a variation thereof) is a gospel music song by Blind Willie Johnson. The title line, closing each stanza of the song, refers to a deathbed and was inspired by a passage in the B ...
" (including those by
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and by
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
).
In 1980, The Singing Cookes recorded the song on the album ''Live''.
In 1985,
The Nelons
The Nelons are an American southern gospel group based in Atlanta, Georgia. Group members are Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and Kelly's daughters Amber Nelon Kistler and Autumn Nelon Clark. The Nelons were inducted into the Gospel Mu ...
recorded the song on the album ''In One Accord''.
in 1986,
Janet Paschal
Janet Paschal (born October 18, 1956) is an inspirational gospel vocalist. She has released numerous albums in that genre and has received multiple fan awards and Grammy and Dove Award nominations. She is also a songwriter and published author. ...
recorded the song on the album ''Live!''
In 1989,
Russ Taff
Russell Taff (born November 11, 1953) is an American gospel singer and songwriter who grew up in Farmersville, California. He has sung a variety of musical styles throughout his career including: pop rock, traditional Southern gospel, contempora ...
covered the song on the album ''
The Way Home'' and also as an extended version on the 1991 album ''
Under Their Influence''.
In 1997, it was featured in the film ''
The Apostle
''The Apostle'' is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Robert Duvall, who stars in the title role. John Beasley, Farrah Fawcett, Walton Goggins, Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash, Miranda Richardson, and Billy Joe Shaver also ...
'', performed by lead actor
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
.
In 2006,
Crooked Still
Crooked Still is an American band consisting of vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player Gregory Liszt, bassist Corey DiMario, cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas. They are known for their high energy, technical skill, unusual i ...
covered the song on their album ''
Shaken by a Low Sound'', which received widespread attention when it was featured in the 2020 video game ''
The Last of Us Part II
''The Last of Us Part II'' is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. Set five years after ''The Last of Us'' (2013), the game focuses on two playable charac ...
''.
In 2010, the artist
Charlie Parr
Charlie Parr is an American country blues musician. Born in Austin, Minnesota, he spent part of his childhood in Hollandale before starting his music career in Duluth. His influences include Charlie Patton, Bukka White, Reverend Gary Davis, Dave ...
recorded a cover of the song on the album ''When the Devil Goes Blind''.
In 2011, it was featured in the film
''Blackthorn'', performed by lead actor
Sam Shepard
Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...
.
In 2012,
Scott Lucas and the Married Men
Scott Lucas and the Married Men is the solo project/band of Scott Lucas, the guitarist, bassist, and lead vocalist of the alternative rock band Local H.
Formation
The project started when Lucas started writing and sending songs to an ex-girlfr ...
covered the song on their ''Blood Half Moon'' album. Through the latter half of 2018, lead singer
Scott Lucas' primary band,
Local H
Local H is an American rock band originally formed by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, bassist Matt Garcia, drummer Joe Daniels, and lead guitarist John Sparkman in Zion, Illinois in 1990. The members all met in high school in 1987 and founde ...
, played this version on tour.
In 2014,
Davy Knowles
Davy Knowles (born 30 April 1987) is a Manx blues guitarist and singer. Knowles currently tours as a solo artist, but is formerly of the blues-rock band Back Door Slam, as well as working under the name Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam for a ...
recorded the song on his solo album ''The Outsider''.
In 2015,
Tom Jones recorded the song on his ''
Praise and Blame
''Praise & Blame'' is the 38th studio album by Wales, Welsh musician Tom Jones (singer), Tom Jones, released 26 July 2010. The album was Jones' first release with Island Records and was recorded in 2009 at the Real World Studios in Wiltshire, E ...
'' album.
In 2017, bluegrass artists Wilson Banjo Co. recorded "Ain't No Grave" on their album ''Spirits in the Hills''. Their rootsy acoustic version hit the number one spot of the bluegrass gospel charts multiple times throughout 2018.
In 2017, a cover of the song by Hidden Citizens appears in the trailer for the film ''
Aftermath
Aftermath may refer to:
Companies
* Aftermath (comics), an imprint of Devil's Due Publishing
* Aftermath Entertainment, an American record label founded by Dr. Dre
* Aftermath Media, an American multimedia company
* Aftermath Services, an Americ ...
''. That same year, a version of the song performed by Bror Gunnar Jansson was used over the end credits of the first episode of ''
Damnation
Damnation (from Latin '' damnatio'') is the concept of divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth.
In Ancient Egyptian religious tradition, citizens would recite th ...
''.
In 2018, the song was used as the end credits song for the final episode of the first season of ''
Altered Carbon
''Altered Carbon'' is a 2002 cyberpunk novel by the English writer Richard K. Morgan. Set in a future in which interstellar travel and relative immortality is facilitated by transferring consciousnesses between bodies ("sleeves"), it follows t ...
'', performed by
Renée Elise Goldsberry
Renée Elise Goldsberry (born January 2, 1971) is an American actress and singer known for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway musical ''Hamilton'', for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musica ...
.
In 2019,
an adapted version was released by the band Cageless Birds on their album ''We Bow'', and appears on the
Bethel Music
Bethel Music is an American music label and worship movement from Redding, California, originating out of Bethel Church (Redding, California), Bethel Church where they started making music in 2001. Bethel Music has grown from being a local church ...
album ''
Victory
The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...
,'' with Molly Skaggs singing the lead vocals in both songs.
In 2020,
Vika and Linda
Vika and Linda, also known as Vika and Linda Bull, are an Australian vocal duo consisting of Vika Susan Bull (born 1966) and her younger sister, Linda Rose Bull . They came to prominence after singing backing vocals in Joe Camilleri's band The ...
released a version as the lead single from their album, ''
Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso)
''Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso)'' is the sixth studio album by Australia vocal duo Vika and Linda Bull and was released on 11 September 2020.
At the AIR Awards of 2021, the album won Best Independent Blues and Roots Album or EP.
Backgr ...
''.
Johnny Cash cover
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
covered "Ain't No Grave" shortly before his death in September 2003. The recording was not released until February 9, 2010, as part of a posthumous album titled ''
American VI: Ain't No Grave''.
In 2010, Cash's version of the song was featured in the episode "Patriot Down" of ''
NCIS''.
In 2011, professional wrestler
The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...
briefly used Cash's version as his entrance theme in the lead up to and including his match at
WrestleMania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII (also written as WrestleMania 27) was the 27th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown ...
with
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...
.
In 2012,
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
used Cash's version in the film ''
Django Unchained
''Django Unchained'' () is a 2012 American revisionist Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson, with Walton Goggins, Dennis Chri ...
''.
In 2016, Cash's version was featured in the end credits to
the first episode of ''
Westworld
''Westworld'' is an American science fiction- thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populat ...
''.
In 2017, Cash's version was featured in the second trailer for ''
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales''
and in the BBC documentary ''The Scottish Bounty Hunter'' about bounty hunter Christian Matlock.
References
{{reflist
Gospel songs