Little Moses

Written by 
Trad. and A. P. Carter
Tabbed by 
Eyolf Østrem

The text goes back at least to 1840, but Dylan uses the Carter Family version from 1929. The lyrics below are Manfred Helfert’s transcription of the Carter Family version. He also says:

Covered by Dylan during 5 Mar 1970 Self Portrait sessions (credited to Bert A. Williams/Earle C. Jones), during 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour (a fragment with Dylan on piano, probably dating from Nov 1975 is part of the Renaldo and Clara soundtrack), performed live in 1992 and 1993. Dylan’s most likely source is The Carter Family’s recording (RCA Studios, Camden, NJ, 14 Feb 1929, included in Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music (track 53) on Folkways. (Roots, Routes and Ramblings)

The tab below is based on the version from San Jose, The song is an excellent example of the GAIBTY/WGW style of picking out the melody on the bass strings, mostly in G or (as in this case) C. The following is what he plays between some verses. The melody is picked on the bass strings (sometimes hitting neighbouring strings), while the higher strings strum whatever fits in an up–down pattern. The exact strings are not essential and the tab should absolutely not be taken literally; it is more of an indication of in which general area the strings are strummed.

    C             G             C
    :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .   .     
||------0-0---0-|-------------|-----0-0-0-0-|-----0---0-0--||
||*-----1-1---1-|-----0---0---|-----1-1-1-1-|-----1-1-1-1-*||
||------0-0---0-|-----0---0---|-----0-0-0-0-|-----0-0-0-0--||
||------2-------|-0--h2---0---|-----2---2---|-------2-2-2--||
||*-0h3-----3---|-------------|-3-----------|-3-----3-3-3-*||
||--------------|-------------|-------------|--------------||

    G/d               C/e G/d 
    :   .   .     :   .   .      
||------3-3-3-3-|-----3---3----||
||*-----0-0-0-0-|----h1---0---*||
||------0-0-0-0-|-----0---0----||
||--0-----------|-0--h2---0----||
||*-------------|-------------*||
||--------------|--------------||

  C             G             C
  :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .   .   
|-----0-0---0-|-------------|-----0-0-0-0-|-----0---0-0-|
|-----1-1---1-|-----0---0---|-----1-1-1-1-|-----1-1-1-1-|
|-----0-0---0-|-----0---0---|-----0-0-0-0-|-----0-0-0-0-|
|-----2-------|-0--h2---0---|-----2---2---|-------2-2-2-|
|-0h3-----3---|-------------|-3-----------|-3-----3-3-3-|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|

C           G        C
Away by the river so clear,
    C           G             C
The ladies were winding their way,
    G
And Pharaoh's little daughter stepped down in the water
   C            F           C
To bathe in the cool of the day.
  C       F/c C        C      F/c C
Before it was dark she opened the ark
                    G          C
And found the sweet infant was there.


And away by the waters so blue,
The infant was lonely and sad.
She took him in pity and thought him so pretty
And it made little Moses so glad.
She called him her own, her beautiful son
And sent for a nurse that was near.

And away by the river so clear,
They carried the beautiful child,
To his own tender mother, his sister and brother,
Little Moses looked happy and smiled.
His mother so good done all that she could
To rear him and teach him with care.

And away by the sea that was red,
Little Moses the servant of God,
While in him confided, the sea was divided,
As upward he lifted his rod.
The Jews safely crossed while Pharaoh's host
Was drownded in the waters and lost.

And away on the mountain so high,
The last one that ever might see,
While in his victorious, his hope was most glorious
He'd soon o'er the Jordan be free.
When his labor did cease, he departed in peace
                           F             
And rested in the Heavens above.

  F                 C                 F          C
|-1---------------|/8---------------|-1--------|----3-333333333----||
|-1---------------|/8---------------|-1--------|---1--111111111----||
|-2---strumming---|/9---------------|-2--------|--0---000000000----||
|-3---free rhythm-|/10--------------|-3--------|-2----222222222----||
|-3---------------|-----------------|-3--------|------333333333----||
|-1---------------|--------8--12--8-|\1--------|-------------------||
a-bove

 

 

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