"Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" (also called "Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore", "Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore", or "Michael, Row That Gospel Boat") is a traditional spiritual first noted during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

at St. Helena Island, one of the

Sea Islands The Sea Islands are a chain of over a hundred tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States, between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns rivers along South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The la ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. The best-known recording was released in 1960 by the U.S. folk band The Highwaymen; that version briefly reached number-one hit status as a single.

History

The song was sung by former slaves whose owners had abandoned the island before the Union navy arrived to enforce a blockade. Charles Pickard Ware was an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

graduate who had come to supervise the plantations on St. Helena Island from 1862 to 1865, and he wrote down the song in music notation as he heard the

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

sing it. Ware's cousin William Francis Allen reported in 1863 that the formerly enslaved

Black Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

sang the song as they rowed him in a boat across Station Creek. The song was first published in 1867 in ''

Slave Songs of the United States ''Slave Songs of the United States'' was a collection of African American music consisting of 136 songs. Published in 1867, it was the first, and most influential, collection of spirituals to be published. The collectors of the songs were No ...

'' by Allen, Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison. William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison
''Slave Songs of the United States''
p. 23. Folk musician and educator Tony Saletan rediscovered it in 1954 in a library copy of that book and introduced it into the

American folk music revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Early folk music performers include Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Ewan MacColl (UK), Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie ...

. The song is cataloged as

Roud Folk Song Index The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...

No. 11975.

Lyrics

One of the oldest published versions of the song runs in a series of unrhymed couplets:

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
row de boat ashore, Hallelujah! Michael boat a gospel boat, Hallelujah! I wonder where my mudder deh. 'there''See my mudder on de rock gwine home. On de rock gwine home in Jesus' name. Michael boat a music boat. Gabriel blow de trumpet horn. O you mind your boastin' talk. Boastin' talk will sink your soul. Brudder, lend a helpin' hand. Sister, help for trim dat boat. Jordan stream is wide and deep. Jesus stand on t' oder side. I wonder if my maussa deh. My fader gone to unknown land. O de Lord he plant his garden deh. He raise de fruit for you to eat. He dat eat shall neber die. When de riber overflow. O poor sinner, how you land? Riber run and darkness comin'. Sinner row to save your soul.

The same source attests another version in rhyme:

Michael haul the boat ashore. Then you'll hear the horn they blow. Then you'll hear the trumpet sound. Trumpet sound the world around. Trumpet sound for rich and poor. Trumpet sound the jubilee. Trumpet sound for you and me.

This song originated in oral tradition, and there are many versions of the lyrics. It begins with the refrain, "Michael, row the boat ashore,

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

." The lyrics describe crossing the

River Jordan The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic basin, endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and d ...

, as in these lines from

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

's version:

Jordan's river is deep and wide, hallelujah. Meet my mother on the other side, hallelujah. Jordan's river is chilly and cold, hallelujah. Chills the body, but not the soul, hallelujah.

Saletan's own version includes those lines, and these additional verses taken from the 1867 source:

Michael, hear the trumpet sound, hallelujah, Trumpet sound the world around, hallelujah. Trumpet sound the Jubilee, hallelujah, Trumpet sound for you and me, hallelujah.

The River Jordan was where Jesus was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

and can be viewed as a metaphor for deliverance and salvation, but also as the boundary of the

Promised Land In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" ( ) refers to a swath of territory in the Levant that was bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants by God in Abrahamic religions, God. In the context of the Bible, these descendants are originally ...

, death, and the transition to Heaven. According to William Francis Allen, the song refers to the

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

. In the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

tradition, Michael is often regarded as a

psychopomp Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are creatures, spirits, angels, demons, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. Their role is ...

or conductor of the souls of the dead. The spiritual was also recorded on Johns Island during the 1960s by American folk musician and musicologist

Guy Carawan Guy Hughes Carawan Jr. (July 28, 1927 – May 2, 2015) was an American folk musician and musicologist. He served as music director and song leader for the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee. Carawan is be ...

and his wife, Candie Carawan. Janie Hunter, former singer of the Moving Star Hall singers, noted that her father, son of former slaves, would sing the spiritual when he rowed his boat back to the shore after catching fish.

Row, Michael, Row, Hallelujah, Row, Michael, Row, Hallelujah, Row the boat ashore, Hallelujah, See how we (do) the row, Hallelujah, See how we the row, Hallelujah, Let me tries me chance, Hallelujah, Let me tries me chance, Hallelujah, Jump in the
jolly boat The jolly boat was a type of ship's boat in use during the 18th and 19th centuries. Used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship, or for other small-scale activities, it was, by the 18th century, one of several types of ship's boat. The de ...
, Hallelujah, Jump in the jolly boat, Hallelujah, Just row Michael, row, Hallelujah, Row the boat ashore, Hallelujah.

(repeated thus until end) A similar version was collected by Guy Carawan on an unspecified Sea Island.

:Let me try my chance, Hallelujah, Let me try my chance, Hallelujah, Sister Mary try her chance, Hallelujah, Sister Mary try her chance, Hallelujah, Just let me try my chance, Hallelujah, Just let me try my chance, Hallelujah, Michael row your boat ashore, Hallelujah, Michael row your boat ashore, Hallelujah, Sister Mary row your boat, Hallelujah, Sister Mary row your boat, Hallelujah, Everybody try a chance, Hallelujah Everybody try a chance, Hallelujah Oh just let me try my chance, Hallelujah Oh just let me try my chance, Hallelujah

(repeated thus until end) Following the September 1961 murder of local

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

charter member Herbert Lee in Amite County, Mississippi, – the same month that the Highwaymen's arrangement reached No. 1 on the hit parade – a version of "Michael" was among the songs that civil rights activists arrested for protesting the killing sang to keep their spirits up, led by Hollis Watkins, according to a note smuggled out of the county jail by

COFO The Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) was a coalition of the major Civil Rights Movement organizations operating in Mississippi. COFO was formed in 1961 to coordinate and unite voter registration and other civil rights activities in the st ...

and

SNCC The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and later, the Student National Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emer ...

leader Bob Moses:

: Michael row the boat ashore, Alleluia Christian brothers don't be slow, Alleluia Mississippi's next to go, Alleluia.

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...

sang a rather different rendition on his 1962 album '' Midnight Special'' which combines elements drawn from Christianity, American slavery, and Civil Rights Movement. The lyrics work their way through different parts of the Biblical narrative before concluding with the following verses:

They nailed Jesus to the Cross, Hallelujah But his faith was never lost, Hallelujah So Christian soldiers off to war, Hallelujah Hold that line in Arkansas, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! Like Joshua at Jericho, Hallelujah Alabama's next to go, Hallelujah So Mississippi kneel and pray, Hallelujah Some more buses on the way, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah!

Recordings

The version of "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" that became a folk standard was adapted in 1954 by Boston folksinger, songfinder and teacher Tony Saletan from the 1867 songbook ''

.'' As Saletan later explained, "I judged that the tune was very singable, added some harmony (a guitar accompaniment) and thought the one-word chorus would be an easy hit with ounger singers But a typical original verse consisted of one line repeated once, and I thought a rhyme would be more interesting to the teenagers at Shaker Village Work Camp, where I introduced it. So I adapted traditional African-American couplets in place of the original verses." Saletan taught it to

later that year. Saletan himself never recorded the song, but he can be heard singing it during a 2017 podcast interview. Seeger taught it to the rest of

the Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs from ...

, who performed it at their Christmas Eve 1955 post-

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

reunion concert. A recording of that performance was released in 1957 on an album titled ''The Weavers on Tour''. In the same year, folksinger

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (November 9, 1935October 2, 2020), nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", was an American baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959 to 1975. Known for his fiercely competi ...

included it on his ''Carnegie Concert'' album. Saletan shared a 1958 copyright in his adaptation with the members of the Weavers. The Weavers included an arrangement in ''The Weavers' Song Book'', published in 1960. Similarly, Seeger included it in his 1961 songbook, ''American Favorite Ballads,'' with an attribution to Saletan. An older, traditional version, titled "Row Michael Row," was later collected in the

by folklorist

. The American folk quintet the Highwaymen had a #1 hit in 1961 on both the pop and

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

charts in the U.S. with their version, under the simpler title of "Michael", recorded and released in 1960. The Highwaymen's arrangement reached #1 for three weeks on

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

radio station WABC in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in August 1961, and for two weeks in September 1961 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

nationally, remaining in the top ten into October. This recording also went to #1 in the United Kingdom. ''Billboard'' ranked the record as the No. 3 song of 1961. Out of respect for the original, unknown authors of the song, Saletan kept his royalties from the Highwaymen's hit in escrow "seeking some good use for it." The Highwaymen version that went to #1 on the Billboard charts had these lyrics:

Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah. Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah. Sister help to trim the sail, hallelujah. Sister help to trim the sail, hallelujah. Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah. Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah. The River Jordan is chilly and cold, hallelujah. Chills the body but not the soul, hallelujah. Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah. Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah. The river is deep and the river is wide, hallelujah. Milk and honey on the other side, hallelujah. Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah. Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah.

The recording begins and ends with one of the singers whistling the tune

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

, later accompanied by simple instruments, in a slow, ballad style. All the Highwaymen sang and harmonized on the Michael lines but individual singers soloed for each set of additional lyrics. This version differs from the Pete Seeger/Tony Saletan version by changing "meet my mother on the other side" to "milk and honey on the other side." "Milk and honey" is a phrase used in the

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...

during

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

' vision of the

burning bush The burning bush (or the unburnt bush) refers to an event recorded in the Jewish Torah (as also in the biblical Old Testament and Islamic scripture). It is described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus as having occurred on Mount Horeb ...

, where the Promised Land is described as “…a land flowing with milk and honey…” (Exodus 3:8). The original Negro spiritual mentions the singer's mother but the hit version does not.

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002) was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotland and brought ...

reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart with his cover version in 1961.

recorded a popular version of it for his 1962 ''Midnight Special'' album.

included it in his ''Children's Concert at Town Hall'' in 1963. Seeger also sang a solo version at a 1968

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

children's concert, recorded live and released on

Harmony Records Harmony Records was a record label owned by Columbia Records that debuted in 1925. History Harmony Records began for low-priced 78 rpm records in the 1920s and 1930s. It was revived for budget albums of reissued tracks in 1957. The revived labe ...

(#H30399, track B3), a budget label of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. Seeger likewise included "Michael" when he appeared as a guest on

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

in 1970, during the iconic children's television show's second season, using it to teach Big Bird the idea of a participatory sing-along. The same lesson was included when Seeger recorded a Sesame Street album for

Children's Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—includin ...

in 1974 with Brother Kirk.

Trini Lopez Trinidad López III (May 15, 1937 – August 11, 2020), known as Trini Lopez, was an American singer and guitarist. His first album included a cover version of Pete Seeger's " If I Had a Hammer", which earned a gold disc for him. His other ...

had a minor hit with it in 1964. The Israeli-French singer Rika Zaraï also recorded a French version under the title "Michaël" in 1964. The African-American gospel/folk duo Joe & Eddie recorded it for their "Walking Down the Line" album in 1965.

The Lennon Sisters The Lennon Sisters are an American vocal group that has been made up, at one time or another, of three or four sisters. The quartet originally consisted of Dianne (a.k.a. DeeDee; born Dianne Barbara, December 1, 1939), Peggy (born Margaret Ann ...

recorded a version which was later featured as a bonus track on a CD re-release of their album "The Lennon Sisters Sing Great Hits". The Carawans' recording from St. Johns Island of "Jane Hunter and three Moving Star Hall singers" of a traditional "Row, Michael, Row," was released by Smithsonian Folkways Records in 1967 on the album, ''Been in the Storm So Long''. In the Jan 12, 1968 TV episode of Tarzan ("The Convert"), the song is performed by a trio of nuns arriving at an African village by canoe. The nuns were played by guest stars Diana Ross and the Supremes. The song was recorded by

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

for their 1976

15 Big Ones ''15 Big Ones'' is the 20th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 5, 1976, by Brother/Reprise. It includes a mix of original songs and renditions of rock 'n' roll and R&B standards. The LP was the band's first a ...

album but was left off the final running order.

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

rearranged the song, giving it a rich arrangement with sound similar to the many other covers recorded during this period, including a complex vocal arrangement.

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...

sang lead vocals. Richard Jon Smith's version spent nine weeks in mid-1979 at #1 in South Africa. Being a well-documented song and publicised by English Folk Dance and Song Society, The Broadside Ballads Project, and Mainly Norfolk, the song was recorded by Jon Boden and Oli Steadman for inclusion in their respective lists of daily folk songs " A Folk Song A Day" and "365 Days Of Folk". The counselors sing the song, along with "Down in the Valley" in the opening scene of the 1980 horror film, '' Friday the 13th''. A German version is "Michael, bring dein Boot an Land" by Ronny ( de). A German gospel version is "Hört, wen Jesus glücklich preist" (A song of the

Beatitudes The Beatitudes () are blessings recounted by Jesus in Matthew 5:3–10 within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirror the blessings. In ...

). The German disco group

Dschinghis Khan Dschinghis Khan (; "Genghis Khan") is a German Eurodisco Pop music, pop band. It was originally formed in Munich in Eurovision Song Contest 1979, 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "Dschinghis Khan (song), Dschinghis K ...

recorded a version of it in 1981. The Smothers Brothers did a fairly straightforward version of the song on their album '' It Must Have Been Something I Said!'', before turning it into a comic sing-along on '' Golden Hits of the Smothers Brothers, Vol. 2'' (which is also included on their album '' Sibling Revelry: The Best of the Smothers Brothers''). Sule Greg Wilson produced a version based upon Allen/

Ware WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

, as well as Row, Michael Row, by Jane Hunter and Moving Star Hall singers. The Wilson version features Tuscarora vocalist Pura Fé (with Wilson on instruments and background vocals). It was used for the end credits of ''The Librarian and the Banjo'', Jim Carrier's 2013 film on Dena Epstein, author of the book, ''Sinful Tunes and Spirituals''. Greg & Steve appropriated the Saletan tune and substituted original lyrics for their song, "A Man Named King," on their 1989 ''Holidays & Special Times'' album.

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian (, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is an Armenian-Canadian singer-lyricist and author born in Egypt best known for his children's music. In 1992, ''The Washington Post'' called him "the most p ...

sings this song on his 1994 '' Bananaphone'' album.

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), ...

included it on their 1998 ''Around the Campfire'' album. The melody, as adapted by Saletan in 1954, was also appropriated for use in a hymn entitled ''Glory Be to God on High''.

References

External links

Audio sample
of the song performed by the German choi
Outta Limits

Free MP3 Download for use in services performed by Richard Irwin
{{authority control 19th-century songs American folk songs American children's songs 1961 singles Harry Belafonte songs The Highwaymen (folk band) songs Songs about rivers Trini Lopez songs Pete Seeger songs Peter, Paul and Mary songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles UK singles chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Year of song unknown Gullah culture United Artists Records singles Song recordings produced by Lou Adler African-American spiritual songs Songs of the American Civil War

History

Lyrics

Recordings

See also

References

External links