Breedloves's Folk Songs

IF I HAD MY WAY (SAMSON AND DELILAH)

Posted admin
  • IF I HAD MY WAY (SAMSON AND DELILAH)
    “If I Had My Way was first known of as a song sheet (“ballet”) sold on the street in the
    early decades of the century – with the title “Samson Tore The Building Down”. It was
    recorded in (possibly) 1923 by the Paramount Jubilee Singers with the same title. The
    best-known early recording is by Blind Willie Johnson under the title “If I Had My Way, I
    Would Tear This Building Down,” from 1927. But there are at least three other recordings
    available from about the same time: “If I Had My Way I’d Tear The Building Down” by
    Rev T.E.Weems; “Samson And The Woman” by Rev J.M.Gates; and “If I Had My Way”
    by Rev T.T.Rose. In modern times it has been recorded by Bruce Springsteen and Bob
    Weir with the Grateful Dead.
    You read about Sampson, you read about his birth
    He was the strongest man that ever lived on Earth.
    One day old Sampson was walking alone
    He looked down on the ground and he saw an old jaw-bone.
    He lifted up that jaw-bone and he swung it over his head,
    And when it got to moving ten thousand was dead.
    If I Had My Way,
    If I had my way in this wicked world,
    If I Had My Way I would tear this building down.
    Sampson and the lion got in attack
    Sampson he crawled up on the lion’s back
    You read about this lion – he killed a man with his paw
    Sampson he got his hands around the lion’s jaw
    And he ripped that beast till the lion was dead
    And the bees made honey in the lion’s head.
    If I Had My Way,
    If I had my way in this wicked world,
    If I Had My Way I would tear this building down.
    Delilah was a women, she was fine and fair
    She had lovely looks, God knows, and cold black hair
    Delilah she climbed up on Sampson’s knee
    And said “Tell me where your strength lies, if you please”
    She talked so fine, she talked so fair,
    Sampson said Delilah, “Cut of my hair,
    Shave my head just as clean as your hand
    And my strength will be like a natural man.”
    If I Had My Way,
    If I had my way in this wicked world,
  • If I Had My Way I would tear this building down.
    If I Had My Way,
    If I had my way in this wicked world,
    If I Had My Way I would tear this building down.

One thought on “IF I HAD MY WAY (SAMSON AND DELILAH)”

Leave a Reply