Bye and Bye We're Going to See the King

"Bye and Bye I'm Goin' to See the King"
Single by Blind Willie Johnson
B-side	"You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond"
Format	10" 78rpm single
Recorded	December 10, 1929; New Orleans, LA
Genre	Gospel blues
Length	2:53
Label	Columbia 14504-D
Blind Willie Johnson singles chronology
"Let Your Light Shine on Me" / "God Don't Never Change" "Bye And Bye I'm Goin' to See the King" / "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" / "God Moves on the Water"

"A Mother's Last Word to Her Daughter"
Single by Washington Phillips
B-side	"I've Got the Key to the Kingdom"
Format	10" 78rpm single
Recorded	December 2, 1929; Dallas, TX
Genre	Gospel blues
Length	3:06
Label	Columbia 14511-D
Writer(s)	Washington Phillips
Producer(s)	Frank B. Walker [1]
Washington Phillips singles chronology
"I Am Born to Preach the Gospel" / "Train Your Child" "A Mother's Last Word to Her Daughter" / "I've Got the Key to the Kingdom" "I Had a Good Father and Mother" / "The Church Needs Good Deacons"

"Bye and Bye We're (or, I'm) Going to See the King" is a Christian song from the African-American musical tradition. It is known under a variety of titles, including "I Wouldn't Mind Dying (If Dying Was All)" and "A Mother's Last Word to Her Daughter". It was recorded seven times before 1930 under all three of those titles (and variants).

It has been most often recorded in gospel or gospel blues style, but also in other styles such as country.

Description

The song consists of several four-line verses (quatrains) and a repeated refrain. The words both of verses and of refrain often differ from one artist to another. A standard feature is that the refrain consists of four lines, the first three of which are identical. Common variants of those three lines include "Bye and bye we're (or, I'm) going to see the King" and "Holy, holy, holy is His name". The fourth line almost always begins "(I) wouldn't (or, don't) mind dying". It concludes in various ways in different versions, for example "If dying was all", or "But I gotta go by myself", or "Because I'm a child of God".

"The King" is a title of the Christian God.

Many versions include a verse which refers to the vision of the chariot in the Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 1.

A line found in many versions, "He said he saw him coming with his dyed garments on", alludes to the Book of Isaiah at 63:1:

Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?

Titles like "Bye and Bye We're Going to See the King" and "I Wouldn't Mind Dying (If Dying Was All)" are taken from the refrain. The title of the 1929 version by Washington Phillips, "A Mother's Last Word to Her Daughter", whose verses differ markedly from other versions, was presumably chosen to indicate that he intended it as a companion song to his "Mother's Last Word to Her Son" of 1927.

Recordings

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

This list of songs or music-related items is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• 1926 – Arizona Dranes, "Bye and Bye We're Going to See the King" ^[2][3][4] 10" 78rpm single Okeh 8438-B ^[5]
• 1927 – Blind Mamie Forehand, "Wouldn't Mind Dying If Dying Was All" ^[6][7] 10" 78rpm single Victor 20574-A ^[8]
• 1927 – Norfolk Jubilee Quartet, "I Wouldn't Mind Dying If Dying Was All" ^[9] 10" 78rpm single Paramount 12630-B ^[10]
• 1928 – Golden Leaf Quartet, "I Wouldn't Mind Dying" ^[11] 10" 78rpm single Brunswick 7050 ^[12]
• 1928 – Rev. I. B. Ware with Wife and Son, "I Wouldn't Mind Dying (but I Gotta Go by Myself)" ^[13][14] 10" 78rpm single Vocalion 1235 ^[15]
• 1929 – Blind Willie Johnson, "Bye and Bye I'm Goin' to See the King" ^{[16][17][18][19][20]} 10" 78rpm single Columbia 14504-D ^[21][22]
• 1929 – Washington Phillips, "A Mother's Last Word to Her Daughter" ^[23][24] 10" 78rpm single Columbia 14511-D ^[25][22]
• 1932 – Carter Family, "I Wouldn't Mind Dying" ^[26] 10" 78rpm single Victor 23807 ^[27]
• 1939 – Carter Family, "I Wouldn't Mind Dying" ^[28] radio broadcast ^[29]
• 1939 – Smith Casey, "I Wouldn't Mind Dying If Dying Was All" ^[30][31][32]
• 1939 – The Dixie Hummingbirds, "Wouldn't Mind Dying" ^[33] 10" 78rpm single Decca 7667 ^[34]
• 1956 – Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Gospel Harmonettes, "I Wouldn't Mind Dying" ^{[35][36][37][38][39]} on the album Get on Board ^[40]
• 1961 – Reverend Pearly Brown, "By and By (I'm Gonna See the King)" ^[41] on the album Georgia Street Singer ^[42]
• 1965 – Mississippi Fred McDowell, "Bye and Bye"/"Wouldn't Mind Dying" ^[43][44]
• 1981 – Flora Molton and the Truth Band, "Bye and Bye I'm Going To See the King" ^[45][46] on the album Living Country Blues USA, Vol. 3 ^[47]
• 1986 – R. Stevie Moore, "I Wouldn't Mind Dyin'" ^[48] on the album Glad Music
• 1994 – Ben Harper, hidden track on the album Welcome to the Cruel World
• 2002 – K. M. Williams, "Bye and Bye, I'm Goin' to See the King" ^[49] on the album Blind Willie's Hymns ^[50]
• 2003 – John and Heidi Cerrigione, "A Mother's Last Word to Her Daughter" ^[51] on the album Wood Stoves and Bread Loaves ^[52]
• 2003 – Davis Coen, "Bye and Bye I'm Goin' to See the King" ^[53] on the album Cryin' the Blues ^[54]
• 2004 – Crush Collision Trio, "Bye and Bye I'm Going to See the King" ^[55] on the album Cold in Hand ^[56]
• 2005 – Flat Mountain Girls, "Wouldn't Mind Dyin'" ^[57] on the album Honey Take Your Whiskers Off ^[58]
• 2006 – Catfish Keith, "Bye and Bye, I'm Going to See the King" ^[59] on the album Rolling Sea ^[60]
• 2007 – Francesco Garolfi, "Bye and Bye, I'm Going to See the King" ^[61] on the album The Blues I Feel ^[62]
• 2009 – Catfish Keith, "By and By I'm Going to See the King" ^[63] on the album Live at the Half Moon ^[64][65]
• 2010 – Heaven And, "Bye and Bye I'm Going To See the King " ^[66][67] on the album Bye and Bye I'm Going To See the King ^[68][69]
• 2010 – Willie Salomon, "By and By I'm Gonna See the King" on the album Let Your Light Shine ^[70]
• 2011 – Catfish Keith, "By and By, I'm Going to See the King" ^[71] on the album A True Friend Is Hard to Find: Gospel Retrospective ^[72][73]
• 2012 – Ryan McGiver, "I Wouldn't Mind Dying" on the album Troubled in Mind ^[74]

Other songs

These songs have similar titles to the song which is the subject of this article, but are different from it and from each other:

• 2010 – Jason Moon, "I Wouldn't Mind Dying Now" ^[75] on the album Naked Under All These Clothes ^[76][77]
• "Bye and Bye When the Morning Comes"/"We'll Understand It Better Bye and Bye", a different gospel song
• "We Shall See the King (When He Comes)", a different gospel song

See also

• Ezekiel Saw the Wheel, a different gospel song which relates to the same passage in the Book of Ezekiel

References

1. Corcoran, Michael (December 29, 2002). "Exhuming the Legend of Washington Phillips". Austin Statesman. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
2. Arizona Dranes: Bye and Bye We're Going to See the King, Composed by Traditional at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
3. Arizona Dranes: Bye & Bye We're Going to See the King at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
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7. A.C. / Blind Mamie Forehand: I Wouldn't Mind Dying If Dying Was All, Pt. 2 at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
8. "Victor matrix BVE-37962. Wouldn't mind dying if dying was all / Mamie Forehand". UCSB. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
9. Norfolk Jazz & Jubilee Quartet: I Wouldn't Mind Dying If Dying Was All at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
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50. KM Williams: Blind Willie's Hymns at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
51. John Cerrigione / John & Heidi Cerrigione: A Mother's Last Words To Her Daughter at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
52. John & Heidi Cerrigione: Wood Stoves and Bread Loaves at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
53. Davis Coen: Bye and Bye I'm Goin' to See the King, Composed by Traditional at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
54. Davis Coen: Cryin' the Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
55. Crush Collision Trio: Bye and Bye I'm Going to See the King-Traditional at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
56. Crush Collision Trio: Cold in Hand at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
57. The Flat Mountain Girls: Wouldn't Mind Dyin' at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
58. The Flat Mountain Girls: Honey Take Your Whiskers Off at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
59. Catfish Keith: Bye and Bye, I'm Going to See the King at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
60. Catfish Keith: Rolling Sea at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
61. Francesco Garolfi: Bye & Bye I'm Going to See the King at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
62. Francesco Garolfi: The Blues I Feel at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
63. Catfish Keith: Medley: Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground/By and by I'm Going to See the King, Composed by Catfish Keith at AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
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