''The Preacher and the Bear'' is an American popular song, originally a "

coon song Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a stereotype of black people. They were popular in the United States and Australia from around 1880 to 1920, though the earliest such songs date from minstrel shows as far back as 1848, when they w ...

". The lyrics recount the story of a church pastor who appeals to God after being treed by a

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

while out hunting on the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

. He falls out of the tree and has to fight the bear. Various versions have been recorded.

George Fairman George Wayne Fairman (1881–1962) was a lyricist, composer, and music publisher whose work includes popular songs. Several of his songs charted including two that reached #1. Fairman's work includes coon songs, ragtime, songs related to World Wa ...

wrote the song.

Sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

was published for it by Capitol Music House of Columbus, Ohio in 1904. Publisher Arthur Longbrake composed the song using the pseudonym Joe Arzonia.

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

artist Arthur Francis Collins recorded the song in 1905 and it became a huge hit, selling over a million records. He continued performing and recording the song for various records over several decades. Sheet music for the song was also published in 1905 by Joseph Morris. The song was later recorded by various artists including

Phil Harris Wonga Philip Harris (June 24, 1904 – August 11, 1995) was an American actor, comedian, musician and songwriter. He was an orchestra leader and a pioneer in radio situation comedy, first with ''The Jack Benny Program'', then in ''The Phil Harri ...

in 1947,

The Jubalaires The Jubalaires were an American gospel group active between 1940 and 1950. Previously known as the Royal Harmony Singers in 1936, the band was known for song verses delivered in a rhythmic, rhyming style that has been described as an early version ...

, and

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

on his album ''Georgia Sunshine''. It was also recorded by the

Golden Gate Quartet The Golden Gate Quartet (a.k.a. The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet) is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active. Origins and early career The group was founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singe ...

. The

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

' Ozark Folksong Collection has a 1962 recording from

Jasper, Arkansas Jasper is a city in Newton County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population is 547. The city is the county seat of Newton County. Jasper is part of the Harrison Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography According ...

, of an

a capella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

version with racial slurs included in the lyrics.

References

American folk songs Songs about bears 1905 songs

External links

Arthur Collins version, 1908Phil Harris version, 1947Jerry Reed version, 1970
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