Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho

"Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (or alternatively "Joshua Fought de Battle of Jericho", "Joshua Fit the Battle" or just Joshua and various other titles) is a well-known African-American spiritual. The lyrics allude to the biblical story of the

Battle of Jericho The Battle of Jericho, as described in the Biblical Book of Joshua, was the first battle fought by the Israelites in the course of the conquest of Canaan. According to , the walls of Jericho fell after the Israelites marched around the city walls ...

, in which

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

led the

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

against

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

(Joshua 6:15-21). The song is believed to have been composed by slaves in the first half of the 19th century. Some references suggest that it was copyrighted by Jay Roberts in 1865. In 1882, the song was published in ''Jubilee Songs'' by and in ''A Collection of Revival Hymns and Plantation Melodies'' by . The first recorded version was by Harrod's Jubilee Singers, on Paramount Records No. 12116 in 1922 (though some sources suggest 1924). The Online 78 Discography entry for this record credits Jay Roberts as the author. Later recordings include those by

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

(1925),

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to ...

(1958),

Clara Ward Clara Mae Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel singer who achieved great artistic and commercial success during the 1940s and 1950s, as leader of The Famous Ward Singers. A gifted singer and arranger, Ward adopted ...

Laurie London Laurie London (born 19 January 1944) is an English singer, who achieved fame as a boy singer of the 1950s, for both his gospel and novelty songs recording in both English and German. He is best known for his hit single of the spiritual song "He's ...

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in ...

(2011) and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

(1960) among many others. In 1930, Marshall Bartholomew created his arrangement of the song. Composer and conductor Morton Gould used the song as the basis for his 1941 composition for concert band, ''Jericho Rhapsody''.

Ralph Flanagan Ralph Elias Flenniken (April 7, 1914 – December 30, 1995), known professionally as Ralph Flanagan, was an American big band leader, pianist, composer, and arranger for the orchestras of Hal McIntyre, Sammy Kaye, Blue Barron, Charlie Barnet, a ...

adapted it under the title "Joshua". Ralph Flanagan and His Orchestra recorded the spiritual in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on March 1, 1950. It was released by

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ari ...

as catalog number 20-3724 (in USA) and by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

on the

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

label as catalog numbers B 9938 and IP 604. Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album '' 101 Gang Songs'' (1961) Sister Thea Bowman learned the song from her elders and recorded it in 1988 on the stereocassette ''Songs of My People''. In 2020 it was re-released for the 30th anniversary of her death as part of the digital albu
''Songs of My People: The Complete Collection''
Early published versions include some parts in dialect, such as "fit" for "fought". A rare, unpublished variation, " srael_(name)_[Jacobfought_the_battle_of_Jericho",_has_evolved_and_has_been_heard_sung_in_the_later_twentieth_century.__In_this_instance,_"Jacob"_refers_to_the_people_of_Israel,_who_won_the_battle.__Though_this_version_is_almost_never_used,_the_two-

srael_(name)_[Jacobfought_the_battle_of_Jericho",_has_evolved_and_has_been_heard_sung_in_the_later_twentieth_century.__In_this_instance,_"Jacob"_refers_to_the_people_of_Israel,_who_won_the_battle.__Though_this_version_is_almost_never_used,_the_two-Syllable_">syllable_name_'Jacob'_fits_more_naturally_into_the_song's_Metre_(music)_">meter_ The_metre_(British_spelling)_or_meter_(American_spelling;__see_spelling_differences)_(from_the_French_unit_,_from_the__Greek_noun_,_"measure"),_symbol_m,_is_the_primary_unit_of_length_in_the_International_System_of_Units_(SI),_though_its__pref_...

_than_the_three-syllable_name_'Joshua'. Like_those_of_many_other_spirituals,_the_song's_words_may_also_be_alluding_to_eventual_escape_from_slavery_–_in_the_case_of_this_song,_"And_the_walls_came_tumblin'_down."_Article_by_Robert_Cummings_at_Allmusic_The_lively_melody_and_rhythm_also_provided_energy_and_inspiration._Sweet_Chariot:_Spirituals_as_a_Source_of_Inspiration_and_Motivation
__Critic_Robert_Cummings_wrote:_"The_jaunty,_spirited_theme_hardly_sounds_like_the_product_of_the_pre-American_Civil_War.html" "title="Metre_(music)_.html" "title="Syllable_.html" ;"title="acob.html" ;"title="srael (name) [Jacob">srael (name) [Jacobfought the battle of Jericho", has evolved and has been heard sung in the later twentieth century. In this instance, "Jacob" refers to the people of Israel, who won the battle. Though this version is almost never used, the two-Syllable ">syllable name 'Jacob' fits more naturally into the song's Metre (music) ">meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

than the three-syllable name 'Joshua'. Like those of many other spirituals, the song's words may also be alluding to eventual escape from slavery – in the case of this song, "And the walls came tumblin' down." Article by Robert Cummings at Allmusic The lively melody and rhythm also provided energy and inspiration. Sweet Chariot: Spirituals as a Source of Inspiration and Motivation
Critic Robert Cummings wrote: "The jaunty, spirited theme hardly sounds like the product of the pre-American Civil War">Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

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