Getting happy, an experience seen almost exclusively in the

Black Church The Black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that predominantly minister to, and are led by, African Americans, ...

and in

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

churches generally, refers to the experience of being filled with the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

, usually involving

ecstatic Ecstasy () is a subjective experience of total involvement of the subject with an object of their awareness. In classical Greek literature, it refers to removal of the mind or body "from its normal place of function." Total involvement with a ...

singing, dancing, and a general spiritual fervor. It is heavily associated with shout music (as the music and the bodily expression are largely inseparable). Accounts of nineteenth century African American slave spirituality use the term, as recorded in the book ''God Struck Me Dead: Voices of Ex-Slaves''. :''All of my people were great Christians. Shouting, singing, praying, and good old heartfelt religion make up the things that filled their lives. ..Aunt Charlotte used to cry most all the time when she got happy.'' —an ex-slave preacher, in ''God Struck Me Dead'', page 75. One of the early nineteenth century traditional '

Negro Spiritual Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...

s' to use the phrase, is the following: :GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY :Good morning everybody :Good morning everybody, Lord :My soul got happy this morning :My soul got happy this morning, Lord :You may call me “hypocrite member” :You may call me “hypocrite member”, Lord :But my soul got happy, this morning :But my soul got happy this morning, Lord :I’m going to see my mother :I’m going to see my mother, Lord :Going to sit down by my Jesus :Going to sit down by my Jesus, Lord.

Further information

For other examples of such gospel music see the following: :'' Say Amen, Somebody'' featuring

Thomas A. Dorsey Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and Christian evangelist influential in the development of early blues and 20th-century gospel music. He penned 3,000 songs, a third of them gospel, in ...

on DVD video :''Greatest Gospel Hits'' by

Shirley Caesar Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams (Birth name, née Caesar; born October 13, 1938), known professionally as Shirley Caesar, is an American Gospel music, gospel singer. Her career began in 1951, when she signed to Federal Records at the age of 12. Thro ...

References

''God Struck Me Dead: Voices of Ex-Slaves'' by Clifton H. Johnson {{ISBN, 0-8298-0945-7 Gospel music