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The Story of "Goin' Home"
From Bohemia to Boston
By Roger Hall
Goin' home, goin' home, I'm a goin' home;
Quiet-like, some still day, I'm jes' goin' home.It's not far, jes' close by,
Through an open door;
Work all done, care laid by,
Goin' to fear no more.Mother's there 'spectin' me,
Father's waitin' too;
Lots o' folks gather'd there,
All the friends I knew,
All the friends I knew.
Home, I'm goin' home!
These opening lines are from the famous song based on Antonin Dvorak's famous "Largo" theme from his Symphony No. 9 (From the New World), Op. 95 (1893). It has been said that Dvorak's themes in his symphony are similar to Bohemian folk music. That he would be thinking of his homeland is obvious. But he did not write the song, "Goin' Home." And it was not originally set as an Afro-American spiritual by Harry Burleigh either, as claimed here.
The song was actually written by one of Dvorak's pupils, Williams Arms Fisher (1861-1948), who adapted and arranged the Largo theme and added his own words. This is part of what Fisher wrote in the published sheet music of his song, "Goin' Home" (Oliver Ditson Company):
The Largo, with its haunting English horn solo, is the outpouring of Dvorak's own home-longing, with something of the loneliness of far-off prairie horizons, the faint memory of the red-man's bygone days, and a sense of the tragedy of the black-man as it sings in his "spirituals." Deeper still it is a moving expression of that nostalgia of the soul all human beings feel. That the lyric opening theme of the Largo should spontaneously suggest the words 'Goin' home, goin' home' is natural enough, and that the lines that follow the melody should take the form of a negro spiritual accords with the genesis of the symphony.
-- William Arms Fisher, Boston, July 21, 1922.
There's no break, there's no end,
Jes'a livin' on;
Wide awake, with a smile
Goin' on and on.Just like these words of the song, the legends behind this beautiful poignant song just keeping "goin' on and on"....
Recommended recording of the song:
One of the great singers of the 20th century, Paul Robeson (1898-1976), made the most expressive recording of Fisher's "Goin' Home" in a famous Carnegie Hall concert. Originally released on 2-LPs in 1974, this concert is now available on CD:
Paul Robeson - Live at Carnegie Hall
(The Historic May 9, 1958 Concert)
For the complete words to William Arms Fisher's song, "Goin' Home," go to this link:
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