“Michael, Row the Boat Ashore” (or “Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore“) is an African-American spiritual. It was first noted during the American Civil War at St. Helena Island, one of the Sea Islands of South Carolina.
It was sung by former slaves whose owners had abandoned the island before the Union navy would arrive to enforce a blockade. Charles Pickard Ware, an abolitionist and Harvard graduate who had come to supervise the plantations on St. Helena Island from 1862 to 1865, wrote the song down in music notation as he heard the freedmen sing it. Ware’s cousin, William Francis Allen reported in 1863 that while he rode in a boat across Station Creek, the former slaves sang the song as they rowed.
The song was first published in Slave Songs of the United States, by Allen, Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison, in 1867. Excerpt from Wikipedia
Print Free Sheet Music
Here’s an easy arrangement of Michael Row the Boat Ashore for the young piano student.
Michael Row the Boat Ashore for Easy (Level 2) Piano Solo | Spiritual
Lyrics for ‘Michael Row the Boat Ashore’
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!
Jordan’s River is deep and wide,
Hallelujah!
Milk and honey on the other side,
Hallelujah!
Guitar Chords for ‘Michael Row the Boat Ashore’
Michael Row the Boat Ashore Guitar Chords on Chordie.com
Video for ‘Michael Row the Boat Ashore’
Check out this video of Michael Row the Boat Ashore from the ORIGINAL Highwaymen on YouTube.com.
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