Donegan was born as Anthony James Donegan in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of a professional violinist. His ethnic mix was Scottish/Irish. He moved with his mother to London at an early age, after his parents divorced. Inspired by blues music and New Orleans jazz bands he heard on the radio, he resolved to learn the guitar, and bought his first at the age of fourteen.
The first band he ever played in was the trad jazz band led by Chris Barber, who approached him on a train asking him if he wanted to audition for his group. Barber had heard that Donegan was a good banjo player; in fact, Donegan had never played the banjo at this point, but he bought one and managed to bluff his way through the audition. His stint in this group was interrupted, however, when he was called up for National Service in 1949. He also played in Ken Colyer's group
In 1952, he formed his first own group, the Tony Donegan Jazzband, which found some work around London. On one occasion they opened for the blues musician Lonnie Johnson at the Royal Festival Hall. Donegan was a big fan of Johnson, and took his first name as a tribute to him. The story goes that the host at the concert got the musicians' names confused, calling them "Tony Johnson" and "Lonnie Donegan", and Donegan was happy to keep the name.
With a washboard, a tea-chest bass and a cheap Spanish guitar, Donegan entertained audiences with folk and blues songs by artists such as Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. This proved so popular that in July 1954 he recorded a fast-tempoed version of Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line", featuring a washboard but not a tea-chest bass, with "John Henry" on the B-side. It was an enormous hit in 1956 (which also later inspired the creation of a full album, An Englishman Sings American Folk Songs, released in America on the Mercury label in the early 1960s) but ironically, because it was a band recording, Donegan made no money from this recording beyond his original session fee. (Nevertheless, Donegan received considerable music publishing royalties from "Rock Island" simply by claiming the British copyright on an unregistered song which was considered to be in the Public Domain. This led to the peculiar situation that any "cover" version of "Rock Island Line" which was released on record in Britain from 1956 showed the song composition credited to Lonnie Donegan.) It was the first debut record to go gold in the UK, and reached the Top Ten in the United States. His next single for Decca, "Diggin' My Potatoes", was recorded at a concert at the Royal Festival Hall on 30 October 1954.[4] Decca dropped Donegan thereafter, but within a month he was at the Abbey Road Studios in London recording for EMI's Columbia label. He had left the Barber band by then, and by the spring of 1955, Donegan signed a recording contract with Pye. His next single "Lost John" reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart.
His success at the time saw Donegan sent to the United States, where he appeared on television on both Perry Como Show and Paul Winchell Show. Returning to the UK, Donegan recorded his debut album, Lonnie Donegan Showcase, in the summer of 1956, which featured songs by Lead Belly and Leroy Carr, plus "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and "Wabash Cannonball". The LP was a hit, securing sales in the hundreds of thousands.[4] The popular skiffle style encouraged amateurs to get started, and one of the many skiffle groups that followed was The Quarrymen formed in March 1957 by John Lennon. Donegan's "Gamblin' Man" / "Puttin' On the Style" single was number one on the UK chart in July 1957, when Lennon first met Paul McCartney.
Donegan went on to make a series of popular records with successes including "Cumberland Gap" and, particularly "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavour (On The Bedpost Over Night)", his only hit song in the U.S., released on Dot. He turned to a music hall style with "My Old Man's a Dustman" which was not well received by skiffle fans, or in an attempted but ultimately unsuccessful American release by Atlantic in 1960, but it reached number one in the UK Singles Chart. Donegan's group had a flexible line-up, but was generally formed by Denny Wright or Les Bennetts (of Les Hobeaux and Chas McDevitt's skiffle groups) playing lead guitar and singing harmony vocals, Micky Ashman or Pete Huggett - later Steve Jones - on upright bass, Nick Nichols - later Pete Appleby and Mark Goodwin - on drums or percussion and Donegan playing acoustic guitar or banjo and singing the lead.
He continued to appear regularly in the UK charts until 1962, before succumbing to the arrival of The Beatles and beat music.
Add 1: In the early fifties after Donegan was demobbed from National Service he joined Chris Barber and Ken Colyer and others called Ken Colyer's Jazzmen which consisted of Ken Colyer (trumpet), Chris Barber (trombone), Monty Sunshine (clarinet), Lonnie Donegan (banjo), Jim Bray (bass) Dickie Bishop (Guitar) and Ron Bowden (drums). This group recorded two excellent blues numbers with Lonnie Donegan as vocal called "In the evening when de sun go down" and "The Midnight Special" After a year, Ken colyer stormed out of the group and Chris Barber took over.
http://www.p.griggsy.btinternet.co.uk/Untitled/Lonnie.html (Memories of Lonnie Donegan by Paul Griggs)
Noah Found Grace In the Eyes of the Lord
Lonnie Donegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
And he landed high and dry
The Lord looked down from His window in the sky
Said, "I created man but I don't remember why
Nothing but fighting since creation day
" The Lord came down to look around a spell
And there was Mister Noah behaving mighty well
And that is the reason, the Scriptures record
That Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
And he landed high and dry
The Lord said, "Noah, there's gonna be a flood
Theres gonna be some water and there's gonna be some mud
So take off your hat, Noah
Take off your coat
Get Ham, Shem, and Japheth and build yourself a boat
" Noah said, "Lord, I don't believe I could
" The Lord said, "Noah, get some sturdy gopher wood
Never know what you can do till you try
Build it fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high."
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
And he landed high and dry
Noah said, "There she is. There she is, Lord."
The Lord said, "Noah, it's time to get aboard
Take of each creature a he and a she
And, of course, Missus Noah and your whole family
" Noah said, "Lord, it's getting mighty dark."
The Lord said, "Noah, get these creatures on the ark
" Noah said, "Lord, it's beginning to pour
" The Lord said, "Noah, hurry up and shut the door."
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
And he landed high and dry
The ark rose up on the bosom of the deep
And after forty days, Mister Noah took a peek
Said, "We're not moving, Lord. Where are we at?
" The Lord said, "You're sitting right on Mount Ararat
" Noah said, "Lord, it's getting mighty dry
" The Lord said, "Noah, see my rainbow in the sky
Take all your creatures and people the earth
But be sure you aren't more trouble than you're worth."
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
And he landed high and dry
The song "Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord" by Lonnie Donegan is about the biblical story of Noah and the flood. The song details Noah's journey to build an ark as God prepares to send a flood to cleanse the world of evil. Before the flood arrives, the Lord looks down upon the earth and sees man fighting with each other. He decides to send a flood to wash everyone away, but he sees that Noah is a good and righteous man who found grace in his eyes. Therefore, God instructs Noah to build an ark and gather two of every kind of animal to survive the flood.
Despite Noah's initial doubts about his ability to build an ark, he eventually does so with the Lord's guidance. When the flood arrives, Noah and his family and all the animals board the ark and survive the torrential weather. After forty days and forty nights, the ark lands on Mount Ararat, and Noah and his family step out into the freshly cleansed earth. God tells Noah to populate the earth again, and he ends his message with a warning to be sure people are worth the trouble they might cause. Overall, the song is a retelling of a biblical story about God's power and judgment but also about the hope and second chances he provides.
Line by Line Meaning
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Noah was shown favor by the Lord
And he landed high and dry
Noah and his family survived the flood and emerged safely on land
The Lord looked down from His window in the sky
God observed the actions of humans from above
Said, "I created man but I don't remember why
God was disappointed in humanity's behavior
Nothing but fighting since creation day
Conflict and strife have existed since the beginning of time
I'll send a little water and wash 'em all away
God planned to flood the earth in response to humanity's evil ways
The Lord came down to look around a spell
God visited the earth to observe for himself
And there was Mister Noah behaving mighty well
Noah was behaving in a righteous manner
And that is the reason, the Scriptures record
The Bible explains why Noah was favored by God
The Lord said, "Noah, there's gonna be a flood
God warned Noah of the impending flood
Theres gonna be some water and there's gonna be some mud
The flood would bring heavy rain and mud
So take off your hat, Noah
Take off your coat
Get Ham, Shem, and Japheth and build yourself a boat
God instructed Noah to build an ark to save his family and the animals
Noah said, "Lord, I don't believe I could
Noah expressed doubt in his ability to build the ark
The Lord said, "Noah, get some sturdy gopher wood
God gave Noah specific instructions for building the ark
Never know what you can do till you try
God encouraged Noah to have faith in himself and his abilities
Build it fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.
God provided detailed measurements for the ark's construction
Noah said, "There she is. There she is, Lord."
Noah completed the ark and could see it was ready for the flood
Take of each creature a he and a she
And, of course, Missus Noah and your whole family
Noah was told to collect and save two of every animal along with his family
Noah said, "Lord, it's getting mighty dark."
The flood was approaching and Noah was worried
The Lord said, "Noah, get these creatures on the ark
God urged Noah to gather the animals and prepare for the flood
Noah said, "Lord, it's beginning to pour
The rain had started and the flood had begun
The Lord said, "Noah, hurry up and shut the door."
It was time for Noah and his family to enter the ark and seal it shut
The ark rose up on the bosom of the deep
The ark began to float on the rising floodwaters
And after forty days, Mister Noah took a peek
Noah waited out the flood for forty days and finally looked out
Said, "We're not moving, Lord. Where are we at?
Noah wondered where the ark had come to rest
The Lord said, "You're sitting right on Mount Ararat
God revealed that the ark had landed safely on a mountain
Noah said, "Lord, it's getting mighty dry
The floodwaters had receded and the earth was drying
The Lord said, "Noah, see my rainbow in the sky
God showed Noah a rainbow as a sign of his promise to never flood the earth again
Take all your creatures and people the earth
God instructed Noah and his family to repopulate the earth with the saved animals and humans
But be sure you aren't more trouble than you're worth.
God warned Noah to live righteously and not cause trouble on the earth
Contributed by Lucas V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Frank Kelch
Fantastic.
Monika Olsen
Always perform super songs.ur feet go footloose
John C. Anderson
I found this song in a book of gospel tunes and picked it on my guitar then I went looking for versions of it on line.
The Statles had one but it was so fast that my ears almost fell off listening to it.
I like this one better, but there's a lot added stuff that seems to detract from the song, so I'll search on.
But, whatever I may find, Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord is a great song, regardless of ones religious beliefs.
John C.
Amelia Schmertz
My grandfather wrote the song - and I think his relationship to religion was - tenuous 🙂
John C. Anderson
@Amelia Schmertz Amelia, thanks for the info.