Ezekiel Saw the Wheel
The spiritual as Hampton Institute sang it, for 2 to 4 singers: everyone sings the quick, bouncing refrain in harmony, then in each verse the soprano sings a line alone and everyone answers "'Way in de middle ob de air". The refrain, two verses, and the refrain after each.
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The first verse
Words: traditional spiritual, as sung at Hampton Institute (printed 1909)Tune: traditional spiritual, as sung at Hampton Institute (printed 1909)
Ezekiel saw de wheel,'Way up in de middle ob de air, Ezekiel saw de wheel,'Way in de middle ob de air;An' de little wheel run by faith,An' de big wheel run by de grace ob God, 'Tis a wheel in a wheel,'Way in de middle ob de air.
About Ezekiel Saw the Wheel
Ezekiel Saw the Wheel is a spiritual as Hampton Institute sang it. Its 1927 songbook, edited by R. Nathaniel Dett, files it among the "Hymns on Biblical Themes", fairly lively, with a firm, marked rhythm. It marks the refrain "Tutti", for everyone, and the first line of each verse "Solo quasi extempore": for one voice, as if made up on the spot. Our tune and words are read from that book, a semitone lower, in G; the four parts are our own, checked against its chords. This is the refrain and two of its three verses for 2 to 4 singers: the soprano sings each verse's solo lines alone, and everyone answers "'Way in de middle ob de air".
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