"Sister" Rosetta Tharpe (1915–1973) was a pioneering U.S. Gospel singer and… Read Full Bio ↴"Sister" Rosetta Tharpe (1915–1973) was a pioneering U.S. Gospel singer and songwriter who attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and early rock accompaniment. She became the first great recording star of Gospel music, first surfacing on the pop charts in 1939 with "This Train", her version of the traditional gospel standard.

Born Rosetta Nubin on the 20th March 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, she began performing at age four, billed as "Little Rosetta Nubin, the singing and guitar playing miracle", accompanying her mother, Church of God in Christ (COGIC) evangelist Katie Bell Nubin, who played mandolin and preached at tent revivals throughout the Southern U.S.A. Exposed to both blues and jazz both in the South and after her family moved to Chicago in the late 1920s, she played blues and jazz in private, while performing gospel music in public settings. Her unique style reflected those secular influences: she bent notes the way that jazz artists did and picked guitar like Memphis Minnie.

Rosetta also crossed over to secular music in other ways. After marrying COGIC preacher Thomas Thorpe (from which "Tharpe" is a misspelling) in 1934 and moving to New York City, she recorded four sides with Decca Records backed by "Lucky" Millinder's jazz orchestra. Her records caused an immediate furore: many churchgoers were shocked by the mixture of sacred and secular music, but secular audiences loved them. Appearances in John Hammond's 1938 extravaganza "From Spirituals to Swing", at the Cotton Club and Café Society and with Cab Calloway and Benny Goodman, made her even more popular. Songs like "This Train" and "Rock Me", which combined gospel themes with bouncy up-tempo arrangements, became smash hits among audiences with little previous exposure to gospel music.

Tharpe continued recording during World War II, one of only two gospel artists able to record V-discs for troops overseas. Her song "Strange Things Happening Every Day", recorded in 1944 with Sammy Price, Decca's house boogie woogie pianist, showcased her virtuosity as a guitarist and her witty lyrics and delivery. It was also the first gospel song to make Billboard's "race records" Top Ten -- something that she accomplished several more times in her career.

After the war Decca paired her with Marie Knight, a sanctified shouter with a strong contralto and a more subdued style than Tharpe. Their hit "Up above My Head" showed both of them to great advantage: Knight provided the response to Tharpe in traditional call and response format, then took the role that would have been assigned to a bass in a male quartet after Tharpe's solo. They toured the gospel circuit for a number of years, during which Tharpe was so popular that she attracted 25,000 paying customers to her wedding to her manager Russell Morrison (her third marriage), followed by a vocal performance, at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. in 1951.

Their popularity took a sudden downturn, however, when they recorded several blues songs in the early 1950s. Knight attempted afterwards to cross over to popular music, while Tharpe remained in the church, but rebuffed by many of her former fans. Retreating to Europe, Tharpe gradually returned to the gospel circuit, although at nowhere near her former celebrity. Her performances were curtailed even further by a stroke in 1970 after which she lost the use of her legs. She died on the 9th October 1973 after another stroke, on the eve of a scheduled recording session.

Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down
Sister Rosetta Tharpe Lyrics

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There ain't no grave can hold my body down
There ain't no grave can hold my body down
When I hear that trumpet sound I'm gonna rise right out of the ground
Ain't no grave can hold my body down

Well, look way down the river, what do you think I see?
I see a band of angels and they're coming after me
Ain't no grave can hold my body down

There ain't no grave can hold my body down

Well, look down yonder Gabriel, put your feet on the land and sea
But Gabriel don't you blow your trumpet 'til you hear it from me
There ain't no grave can hold my body down
Ain't no grave can hold my body down

Well, meet me Jesus, meet me. Meet me in the middle of the air
And if these wings don't fail me I will meet you anywhere
Ain't no grave can hold my body down
There ain't no grave can hold my body down

Well, meet me mother and father, meet me down the river road
And momma you know that I'll be there when I check in my load
Ain't no grave can hold my body down

There ain't no grave can hold my body down
There ain't no grave can hold my body down

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Can't No Grave Hold My Body Down" are a testament to the power of faith in the face of death. The singer declares that no matter what happens to her physical body, her spirit will rise above it all. She embraces the inevitability of physical death, but refuses to let it hold her down. The lyrics are full of references to biblical scripture, which reinforce the idea of the afterlife and resurrection. The song is a celebration of the belief that one's soul is eternal and that even the grave cannot contain it.

The first stanza of the song emphasizes the singer's belief in her own resurrection. She acknowledges that her body will be buried, but insists that it will not remain in the ground. The second stanza depicts a vision of the afterlife, in which the singer sees a band of angels coming to take her to heaven. The third stanza is addressed to the archangel Gabriel, who in Christian tradition is often associated with the Last Judgment. The singer asks Gabriel to wait before blowing his trumpet, suggesting that she wants to be present for that momentous event.

In the fourth and fifth stanzas, the focus shifts from the afterlife to the present moment. The singer calls out to Jesus, asking to be reunited with him in the air. She also calls out to her parents, indicating that she wants to be with them in the afterlife. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, emphasizing the singer's conviction that no grave can hold her down.

Line by Line Meaning

There ain't no grave can hold my body down
I am confident that even death cannot prevent me from rising up again

When I hear that trumpet sound I'm gonna rise right out of the ground
I believe that when I hear the call of Heaven, I will be resurrected from the dead

Well, look way down the river, what do you think I see?
I envision a group of heavenly beings approaching me from afar

I see a band of angels and they're coming after me
I see a group of celestial beings who are ready to take me to my eternal home

Well, look down yonder Gabriel, put your feet on the land and sea
I know that even the archangel Gabriel is powerless without the command of the Almighty

But Gabriel don't you blow your trumpet 'til you hear it from me
I am so sure of my faith that I will command even the angels when it is time for my resurrection

Well, meet me Jesus, meet me. Meet me in the middle of the air
I eagerly anticipate being reunited with my Lord and Savior in the clouds

And if these wings don't fail me I will meet you anywhere
I am so committed to my faith that I trust even my physical body will not fail me as I rise to meet Jesus

Well, meet me mother and father, meet me down the river road
I want to be reunited with my loved ones who have already passed away

And momma you know that I'll be there when I check in my load
I am so certain of my reward in Heaven that I will joyfully carry whatever burdens come my way in life

Ain't no grave can hold my body down
I firmly believe that death has no power over me and I will rise from the dead

There ain't no grave can hold my body down
I repeat my unwavering conviction that death cannot keep me bound forever

There ain't no grave can hold my body down
I reinforce my faith that even the finality of death is no match for the promise of eternal life

Contributed by Emma N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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