No. 215 I’m Bound to die in the Army or Service of the Lord, Osh 80
Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —)
Farewell, vain world, I’m going home,
I am bound to die in the army;
My Savior smiles and bids me come,
I am bound to die in the army;
I am bound to live in the service of my Lord,
I am bound to die in the army.
Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Golden Harp’. A variant of this tune is ‘Promise’ in this collection. ‘Antioch’ in this collection, is also related. The tune ‘Service of the Lord’ or ‘Antioch’ seems to have been borrowed by those who sang ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’ as it is found in Sharp, i., 162. Indications that the direction of borrowing was as suggested may be found in the misfit of words to tune in the secular song. See for example where the “ar-my” of the above tune and the “-lu-jah” of ‘Antioch’ correspond to a mere repetition, “all, all”, in the ‘Little Musgrave’ song. ‘Cruel Mother’, Sharp, i., 61, tune K, is also closely related to ‘Service of the Lord’. For negro adoptions and adaptations see Grissom, p. 60; Marsh, p. 169; White Spirituals, pp. 266 and 267; and Dett, p. 120.