Black History Month — Wade in the Water

  Wade in the Water

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Transcript | Windows Media | Quicktime

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Transcript for “Wade in the Water”

Video length: 4:45 minutes

The video begins in black and white.

The following text appears on screen:
“During the 19th Century, thousands of slaves escaped to freedom through a secret network known as the Underground Railroad. It is believed that, along the way, spiritual songs were used as secret coded messages to escaping slaves. ‘Wade in the Water’ warned them to flee dry land for the water so that the dogs and owners chasing them couldn’t track their scent.”

The screen fades to black.

A woman in a church begins to hum the song and a man is playing the piano. The title of the song appears at the bottom of the screen (“Wade in the Water”) and also the name of the singer (Roxanne Goodman) and pianist (John Dapaah Junior). As the woman sings, different camera angles show her and the pianist as they perform. The screen eventually fades into color as the woman sings.

Lyrics:
Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children,
Wade in the water
God's a-going to trouble the water

Who’s that host all dressed in white?
Wade in the water
Looks like the leader of the Israelite
God's a-going to trouble the water

Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children,
Wade in the water
God's a-going to trouble the water

Who’s that band all dressed in red?
Wade in the water
Looks like the band that Moses led
God's a-going to trouble the water

Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children,
Wade in the water
God's a-going to trouble the water

Look over yonder, what do you see?
Wade in the water
The Holy Ghost falling on me
God's a-going to trouble the water

Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children,
Wade in the water
God's a-going to trouble the water

If you don't believe I've been redeemed
Wade in the water
Come follow me down to the Jordan's stream
Cause God's a-going to trouble the water

Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children,
Wade in the water
God's a-going to trouble the water

The screen fades to black, the Citizenship and Immigration Canada signature appears, and then the Canada word mark appears.