All My Trials
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"All My Trials" is a
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
song which became popular during the social protest movements of the late 1950s and 1960s. Alternative titles it has been recorded under include "Bahamian Lullaby" and "All My Sorrows." The origins of the song are unclear, as it appears to not have been documented in any musicological or historical records (such as the
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 ...
,
Archive of American Folk Song The Archive of Folk Culture (originally named The Archive of American Folk Song) was established in 1928 as the first national collection of American folk music in the United States of America. It was initially part of the Music Division of the Lib ...
, or an
ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...
's field recordings or notes) until after the first commercial recording was released (as "Bahamian Lullaby") on
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 ...
's 1956 debut album ''Offbeat Folksongs''.


History

In the first commercial release on the 1956 album ''Offbeat Folksongs'', Gibson did not mention the history of the song. The next two artists to release it, Cynthia Gooding (as "All My Trials" in 1957) and
Billy Faier Billy Faier (December 21, 1930 – January 29, 2016) was an American banjo player and folk music evangelist. He, along with Pete Seeger, was one of the early exponents of the banjo during the mid-20th-century American folk music revival. L ...
(as "Bahaman Lullaby" in 1959), both wrote in their albums' liner notes that they each learned the song from
Erik Darling Erik Darling (September 25, 1933 – August 3, 2008) was an American singer-songwriter and a folk music artist. He was an important influence on the folk scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Darling was born in Baltimore, Maryland ...
. Gooding explained it was "supposed to be a white spiritual that went to the British West Indies and returned with the lovely rhythm of the Islands," presumably as told to her by Darling. Faier wrote that he heard Darling sing the song "four or five times in spring 1954," when Darling would have been performing with his folk group The Tarriers. However, bibliographic folk song indexes, such as the Traditional Ballad Index do not mention the Bahamas as an origin, listing it as unknown. The ''Joan Baez Songbook'' (published 1964; Baez released the song as "All My Trials" in 1960) suggests it began as a pre–Civil War era American Southern gospel song, which was introduced to the Bahamas where it became a lullaby, and was forgotten in the US until it was brought back from the Bahamas and popularized during the
roots revival A roots revival (folk revival) is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly composed songs with socially and politically aware lyr ...
.


Analysis

The song tells the story of a mother on her death bed, comforting her children, ''"Hush little baby, don't you cry./You know your mama's bound to die,"'' because, as she explains, ''"All my trials, Lord,/Soon be over."'' The message—that no matter how bleak the situation seemed, the struggle would ''"soon be over"''—propelled the song to the status of an anthem, recorded by many of the leading artists of the era. The song is usually classified as a Spiritual because of its biblical and religious imagery. There are references to the "Lord", "a little book" with a message of "liberty", "brothers", "religion", "paradise", "pilgrims" and the "tree of life" awaiting her after her hardships, referred to as "trials". There is an allegory of the river Jordan, the crossing of which represents the Christian experience of death as something which ''"...chills the body but not the soul."'' The river/death allegory was popularized by
John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...
in his classic, ''
The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant devotional literature and of wider early moder ...
'' and the wording echoes the teaching of
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, to ''"...fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul."'' (Matthew 10:28)


Paul McCartney version

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
issued the song as a single from the "Highlights" version of the ''
Tripping the Live Fantastic ''Tripping the Live Fantastic'' is Paul McCartney's first official solo live album and his first release of concert material since Wings' 1976 '' Wings over America'' live package. Recorded during the Paul McCartney World Tour (1989–1990), ...
'' live album. Two versions of the CD single were released, having white and black covers. The b-sides of the black cover single are identical to "
The Long and Winding Road "The Long and Winding Road" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1970 album '' Let It Be''. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. When issued as a single in May 1970, a month after the Beat ...
" single, while the white cover single features an exclusive
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
tribute medley recorded in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
on 28 June 1990. The single debuted at No. 35 in December 1990 and spent six weeks on the UK Singles Chart.


Track listings

* 7-inch # "All My Trials" – 3:21 # "
C Moon "C Moon" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was released as a double A-side with " Hi, Hi, Hi" in 1972. The single reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and since "Hi Hi Hi" was banned by the BBC, "C Moon" re ...
" – 3:39 * White cover CD # "All My Trials" – 3:21 # "
C Moon "C Moon" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was released as a double A-side with " Hi, Hi, Hi" in 1972. The single reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and since "Hi Hi Hi" was banned by the BBC, "C Moon" re ...
" – 3:39 # "
Strawberry Fields Forever "Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Penny Lane". It represented ...
/
Help Help may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Help (2010 film), ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film * Help (2021 theatrical film), ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film * Help (2021 TV ...
/
Give Peace a Chance "Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon (originally credited to Lennon–McCartney), and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, C ...
" – 6:46 * Black cover CD # "All My Trials" – 3:21 # "
C Moon "C Moon" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was released as a double A-side with " Hi, Hi, Hi" in 1972. The single reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and since "Hi Hi Hi" was banned by the BBC, "C Moon" re ...
" – 3:39 # "
Mull Of Kintyre The Mull of Kintyre is the southwesternmost tip of the Kintyre Peninsula (formerly ''Cantyre'') in southwest Scotland. From here, the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is visible on a calm and clear day, and a historic lighthouse, the second ...
" – 5:35 # "
Put It There "Put It There" is a 1990 single from Paul McCartney's 1989 album, '' Flowers in the Dirt''. The song reached number 32 on the UK singles chart. The lyrics were inspired by an expression of friendship and solace that McCartney learned from his fath ...
" – 2:34


Other charted versions

*In February 1964,
Dick and Dee Dee Dick and Dee Dee (or Dick and Deedee) are an American singer-songwriter duo who reached popularity in the early to mid-1960s. The group was founded by California classmates Richard Gosting and Mary Sperling. They eventually changed their names ...
's debuted at No. 89 on the
Billboard 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), ...
and stayed on the chart for three weeks. *In August 1971,
Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country music, country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "M ...
released a version of the song which stayed on the Hot 100 for six weeks, peaking at No. 70 and stayed on the
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 for eight weeks, peaking at No. 6.


Other versions

* The song was recorded numerous times by folk artists, including
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, Dave Van Ronk,
Anita Carter Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999) was an American singer who played upright bass, guitar, and autoharp. She performed with her sisters, Helen and June, and her mother, Maybelle, initially under the name The Carter Sisters a ...
,
Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...
, Track 2.
The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Unit ...
,
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), ...
,
Nick Nick may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nick (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Désirée Nick, German actress and writer Places * Nick, Hungary, a village * Nick, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, a ...
and
Gabrielle Drake Gabrielle Drake (born 30 March 1944) is a British actress. She appeared in the 1970s in television series '' The Brothers'' and '' UFO''. In the early 1970s she appeared in several erotic roles on screen. She later took parts in soap operas '' ...
, and
The Kelly Family The Kelly Family is a European-American music group consisting of a multi-generational family, usually nine siblings who were joined occasionally on stage in their earlier years by their parents. They play a repertoire of rock, pop, and folk mus ...
among many others. * Another version of the song, "All My Sorrows", was made popular by the
Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, a ...
, who recorded it in 1959, followed by
The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...
in 1961 and
The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War v ...
in 1963 on '' Sugar and Spice'' * The melody and chord changes were used as the basis of the Brandywine Singers' "Summer's Come and Gone" (''Billboard'' No. 129, 1963). * Swedish folk group The Hootenanny Singers released a Swedish language version titled "Stanna en stund" ("Pause for a moment") in 1964. * A fragment of the song is used in the
Mickey Newbury Milton Sims "Mickey" Newbury Jr. (May 19, 1940 – September 29, 2002) was an American singer-songwriter and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Early life and career Newbury was born in Houston, Texas, on May 19, 1940, to Mam ...
anthem "
An American Trilogy "An American Trilogy" is a 1972 song medley arranged by country composer Mickey Newbury and popularized by Elvis Presley, who included it as a showstopper in his concerts. The medley uses three 19th-century songs: *"Dixie" — a popular folk so ...
", also recorded by
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
. *
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...
guitarist
Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician, record producer, and the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with ...
did his own arrangement of the Kingston Trio's "All My Sorrows" on his 1992 solo album '' Out of the Cradle''. *
Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
-
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
artist
Cerys Matthews Cerys Elizabeth Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the " Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews now ...
released the song on her debut solo album Cockahoop in 2003. * Swedish folk duo
First Aid Kit A first aid kit or medical kit is a collection of supplies and equipment used to give First aid, immediate medical treatment, primarily to treat injuries and other mild or moderate medical conditions. There is a wide variation in the contents o ...
released a version as a bonus track on their 2010 album '' The Big Black and the Blue''. * Syrian-American musician
Bedouine Azniv Korkejian, known by her stage name Bedouine (born July 16), is a Syrian-American musician. She has lived in a number of cities and countries, including Saudi Arabia, Houston, Syria, and Boston. History Early life Korkejian was born in ...
released a single version "All My Trials" in 2020. * Words exist to the tune in French (La fin du voyage ourney's end and German (Am Ziel meiner Reise y journey's goal;
Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( ; born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer and politician. Over the span of her career, she has released an estimated 450 albums in at least thirteen languages, including Greek language, Greek, French language, French, ...
has recorded all three (English in 1985, the other two in 1984).


References

{{authority control 1956 songs 1964 singles 1990 singles Peter, Paul and Mary songs Joan Baez songs Ray Stevens songs The Kingston Trio songs Dick and Dee Dee songs Paul McCartney songs Warner Records singles Live singles American folk songs Year of song unknown Songs with unknown songwriters