Top of page

Audio Recording See that my grave is kept green

See that my grave is kept green

About this Item

Title

  • See that my grave is kept green

Names

  • Williams, Gus

Created / Published

  • Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., September 23, 1998

Headings

  • -  Music

Genre

  • Music

Notes

  • -  The performers are the "Music for the Nation" Singers, and are all Library of Congress staff members. These selections were recorded in the Library's Coolidge Auditorium on September 23, 1998. Robert Saladini, director; Phillip DeSellem, pianist; Carol Guglielm, Elizabeth Miller (sopranos); Laura Lee Fischer, Linda Gill (altos); David Arbury, Thomas A. Howe (tenors); Ralph Gingery, John Oswald Greene (basses).
  • -  Lyrics: When I'm dead and gone from you darling, When I'm laid away in my grave, When my spirit has gone to heaven above, To him who my soul will save; When you are happy and gay once more, Thinking of days that have been; This one little wish I ask of you, See that my grave's kept green. Oh, the days will come to you darling, When on earth no more I'll be seen; One sweet little wish darling grant me, See that my grave's kept green.
  • -  Gus Williams, an important performer during the 1870s, was best known as a "Dutch act"--a comedian with an act in German dialect. However, his most successful song is a straightforward sentimental one dealing with that most affecting of scenes for the nineteenth-century audience, the death-bed. (This particular death-bed is unusual in being that of a spouse rather than of a child.) "See That My Grave is Kept Green" generated several answer and imitation songs during the 1870s. Its title is reflected in Blind Lemon Jefferson's immortal 1927 recording "See That My Grave's Kept Clean." After its first two lines, Jefferson's bluesy song bears no resemblance to Gus Williams's 1878 ballad --the body of Jefferson's song is a version of the text known to folklorists as "The Unfortunate Rake"--but it is the first two lines that appear as epitaph on Blind Lemon Jefferson's grave: "Lord, it's one kind favor I'll ask of you See that my grave is kept clean."

Medium

  • 1 audio file (2:14)

Source Collection

  • Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, ca. 1870-1885

Repository

  • music division

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Format

Contributor

Dates

Language

Subject

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, ca. 1870 to 1885 collection is in the public domain and is free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Music Division

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Williams, Gus. See That My Grave Is Kept Green. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C, 1998. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/sm1878.7803775/.

APA citation style:

Williams, G. (1998) See That My Grave Is Kept Green. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sm1878.7803775/.

MLA citation style:

Williams, Gus. See That My Grave Is Kept Green. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C, 1998. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/sm1878.7803775/>.