I Am Bound For The Promised Land

Our Upbeat Bluegrass Gospel version of "I Am Bound For The Promised Land" also known as "On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand"  It was a favorite at camp meetings and brush arbors. Hank Williams and Johnny Cash ,as well as many others, have recorded this tune  1.    On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand, And cast a wishful eye To Canaan’s fair and happy land, Where my possessions lie. Refrain: I am bound for the promised land, I am bound for the promised land; Oh, who will come and go with me?  I am bound for the promised land. 2. O’er all those wide, extended plains Shines one eternal day; There God the Son forever reigns, And scatters night away. 3. No chilling winds or poisonous breath Can reach that healthful shore; Sickness and sorrow, pain and death, Are felt and feared no more. 4. Filled with delight my raptured soul Would here no longer stay; Though Jordan’s waves around me roll, Fearless, I’d launch away. Samuel Stennett, pub.1787 Copyright: Public Domain  Miss M. Durham, pub.1835 selahpub.com writes: History of this hymn "This well-known hymn by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Stennett (1727­-1795) first appeared in Selection of Hymns, a celebrated hymnal compiled by the Baptist editor John Rippon. Published in 1787, Rippon's hymnal also introduced in its enduring form Edward Perronet's "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." A native of Exeter, Samuel Stennett spent his childhood in London where his father served a Baptist church as pastor. In 1758, he succeeded his father in the pastorate of the Baptist church in Little Wild Street, London, where he served until his death. A scholarly man, Stennett received a D.D. from King's College, Aberdeen in 1763. Known also as a friend of the reigning monarch, George III, Stennett nonetheless refused political or social opportunities to devote himself to ministry. His prominence among the Dissenting ministers of London afforded occasions to use his influence with political figures on behalf of religious liberty. Stennett authored 39 hymns, five of which appeared in Rippon's Selection (1787). His grandfather, Joseph Stennett, had also been a prominent Dissenting hymn writer, publishing several hymnals reflecting his Puritan-rooted religion of the heart. Samuel Stennett continued the tradition, although with less passionate language of glory and grace than had marked his grandfather's Puritan-influenced notions of Christian experience. Stennett wrote seven stanzas for "On Jordan's Stormy Banks." The hymn is also known by the title Stennett gave it, "Promised Land." Critics have noted that "Promised Land" echoes a well-known hymn by Isaac Watts, "There Is a Land of Pure Delight." More than any other of Stennett's hymns, "Promised Land" found enormous popularity in 19th-century America. Its acceptance by American Methodists and its subsequent use in camp meetings and brush arbors help account for this.  The hymn has appeared in each American Methodist hymnal since Francis Asbury included it in his Supplement to the Pocket Hymn Book (1808). Stennett's eight stanzas are generally reduced to three or four, and several of these may be slightly altered. The song found its way into the 1835 Southern Harmony and is part of the American shape note tradition. At some times in American history, evangelicals have reinterpreted Stennett's biblical metaphors with a this-worldly eye toward the promised land just over the horizon on the western frontier. "Promised Land" has been set to various tunes. Perhaps the best-known in the United States today is PROMISED LAND, a traditional early-nineteenth-century American melody with a strong resemblance to a once-popular dance tune. William Walker's Southern Ha