"Paul and Silas in Jail" is a
gospel blues song written by
Washington Phillips (18801954), and recorded by him (vocals and
zither
Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...
) in 1927.
Description
The song is in
strophic form, and consists of five
quatrain
A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines.
Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...
s in
rhyming couplets. According to the
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
,
St. Paul and
Silas
Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey.
Name and et ...
were in
Philippi
Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colon ...
(a former city in present-day Greece), where they were arrested, flogged, and imprisoned for causing a public nuisance. The song relates what happened next, as recorded in Acts
16:25-31:
Recordings
* 1927Washington Phillips,
Columbia Records single
Other songs
* "Paul and Silas (Bound in Jail)", an unrelated gospel song about the same Biblical story; it has sometimes been called "Paul and Silas in Jail"
References
{{Authority control
Blues songs
Gospel songs
Washington Phillips songs
1927 songs
Columbia Records singles
Songs about prison