No. 155 O I’m So Happy
Pentatonic, mode 1 (I II — IV V VI —)
O I am so happy in Jesus,
His blood has redeem’d me from sin;
I shout and I sing in my gladness,
To know he is dwelling within.
O I am so happy in Jesus,
His blood has redeem’d me from sin,
So happy that he is my Savior,
So happy he’s dwelling within.
Recorded by the author, September 21, 1932, in Nashville, Tennessee, from the singing of Samuel E. Asbury who learned it from hearing it sung at camp meetings in western North Carolina in the 1880’s. The tune is quite evidently an orally transmitted version of that of ‘Faithful Soldier’, in this collection, which first appeared in the Southern Harmony (1835) and was claimed by William Walker, the compiler of that collection. See also ‘Hallelujah’ in this collection, a type tune to which the above melody is organically related, for further data as to kindred tunes.