Down by the Riverside


"Down by the Riverside" is an African-American spiritual. Its roots date back to before the American Civil War, though it was first published in 1918 in Plantation Melodies: A Collection of Modern, Popular and Old-time Negro-Songs of the Southland, Chicago, the Rodeheaver Company. The song has alternatively been known as "Ain' go'n' to study war no mo'", "Ain't Gwine to Study War No More", "Down by de Ribberside", "Going to Pull My War-Clothes" and "Study war no more". The song was first recorded by the Fisk University jubilee quartet in 1920, and there are at least 14 black gospel recordings before World War II.
Because of its pacifistic imagery, "Down by the Riverside" has also been used as an anti-war protest song, especially during the Vietnam War. The song is also included in collections of socialist and labor songs.

Lyrics

The song has many lyrical variations, though usually, each stanza follows a standard form, with one sentence that differs from one stanza to the next. The song often begins:
With the chorus:
Other lines that can appear in stanzas, in place of "Gonna lay down my burden", include:
  • Gonna shake hands with every man
  • Gonna lay down my heavy load
  • Gonna lay down my sword and shield
  • Gonna stick my sword in the golden sand
  • Gonna try on my long white robe
  • Gonna try on my starry crown
  • Gonna put on my golden shoes
  • Gonna talk with the Prince of Peace
  • Gonna shake hands around the world
  • Gonna cross the river Jordan
  • Gonna climb up on that mountain
  • Gonna climb the road to heaven
  • Gonna walk down that road of peace
  • Gonna take all of my brethren

Themes

Much of this spiritual contains Biblical imagery. In general, the song is focused on the concept of leaving the feelings of anger and pessimism behind, as to have a new spiritual dress, in the setting of a riverside, prior to going across it.
The song suggests baptism in water, using the metaphor of crossing the River Jordan to enter the Promised Land in the Old Testament. The refrain of "ain't gonna study war no more" is a reference to a quotation from the Book of Isaiah, chapter 2, verse 4 : "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." One of the lines also references Jesus Christ, specifically, "Gonna talk with the Prince of Peace," as the "Prince of Peace" is a common title for Jesus. In "Gonna climb the road to heaven," the road is a metaphor for the difficult journey of life, as a road and travel can be dangerous and full of trial. This sentiment is similar to the line, "Gonna climb up on that mountain," which again is symbolic of the arduous journey of life.

Recordings

Artists who have recorded the song include:

Soundtrack appearances

The Reverend Horatio Duncan & Amos Sweets version was featured as a DLC in the Ubisoft games Just Dance 2 and Just Dance 3, and on the main track list of Just Dance: Summer Party.
It was used as background music in two episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants known as "Survival of the Idiots" and "Selling Out".
It was played in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Next Phase".
It appears in Trombone Champ.
It was played in Ted Lasso episode "Man City" as Isaac MacAdoo gives a haircut to Sam Obisanya with the team in the AFC Richmond locker room.
It was used during the credits of the final episode of Turning Point: The Vietnam War by Luminant Media and distributed by Netflix, though it does not seem to be in the official soundtrack.

Parodies and alternative lyrics

The song was the basis of an Allan Sherman parody called "Don't Buy the Liverwurst". The tune of "Down by the Riverside" was also used in a McDonald's's 1960s jingle, "McDonald's Is My Kind of Place". In episode 72 of the animated television series Animaniacs, this song was parodied as "U.N. Me" about the United Nations Headquarters and was later released on their 2nd album, Yakko's World.
In the UK, "Down by the Riverside" was parodied for use by a radio commercial on some local radio stations about eco-friendly travel choices.
JibJab also used the melody in a song about the year 2012 in review.
An episode of Liv & Maddie had Liv singing a song about her musical group with senior citizens, "The Golden Chords, " at a retirement home, to the tune of this song.