People Get Ready
People Get Ready
Kyle Pederson (2023)
Voicing: SATB
Accompaniment: piano, optional bass, percussion and B3 organ
Music: Curtis Mayfield, arrangement by Kyle Pederson
Text: Curtis Mayfield
Commissioned by: Three Rivers Conference Honors Choir, Southeast Minnesota
LYRICS:
People get ready, there's a train a comin';
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board.
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin';
don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord.
People get ready, there's a train to Jordan,
picking up passengers from coast to coast.
Faith is key, open the door and board them,
there's hope for all, so thank the Lord.
Can we even make room for the hopeless sinner,
who would hurt mankind just to save his own.
Have mercy on those who choices grow thinner,
so there's no hiding place from the kingdom's throne.
Program Note:
Curtis Mayfield wrote this song in 1965 in the middle of a decade of tremendous upheaval. Many have said this song became the unofficial anthem of the Civil Right Movement; it was able to achieve that status due to its ability to cross over racial barriers, generational barriers, and religious differences.
The opening lyric is:
People get ready, there's a train a-comin'
Don't need no baggage, you just get on board
The train is a metaphor for all sorts of things, but at its heart it represents the movement out of a place of despair and hopelessness...and a movement into a place of healing and hopefulness. Today, this train invites us out of all those things that divide us....out of racism, political polarization, discrimination in any form, our hatred...and to get on board the train of reconciliation, compassion, and community.
My arrangement has a driving, bluesy piano accompaniment, but you'll hear in the demo how you can add drums, bass, and a little Hammond organ and really turn this into something special that could close your concert. That accompaniment is also available as a track to use in rehearsal or performance. If you have a particularly soulful soloist or two, this piece provides a great opportunity for them to shine.
