Spirit Song, by Lawrence Weiss 2018
Spirit Song
USA
History and Song Notes
Spirit Song is a traditional African American spiritual, also known by the name “I’m Gonna Sing When the Spirit Says Sing.” In the traditional version of this song, the verses include “I’m gonna sing, I’m gonna shout, I’m gonna pray and, I’m gonna preach when the spirit says…”
Audio recording for listening, singing along, and learning:
You’ll notice that in the recording the movements change, and the feeling of the music changes along with them; this is an opportunity for the children to move expressively to the music in different ways. Once the children are familiar with the song, they can choose their own movements.
Piano Accompaniment:
This accompaniment is arranged to fit the words and movements “bounce when the spirit says bounce,” “tiptoe when the spirit says tiptoe,” and “march when the spirit says march.”