I am Going to the Lordy
I am Going to the Lordy | |
---|---|
by Charles J. Guiteau | |
Media type | Spoken/recited |
Lines | Interminable (26 spoken before execution) |
Full text | |
I am going to the Lordy at Wikisource |
"I am Going to the Lordy", alternatively titled "Simplicity", is a poem written by Charles J. Guiteau, the assassin of U.S. President James A. Garfield. He wrote it on June 30, 1882, the morning of his execution. He read it at the gallows.
"I am Going to the Lordy" was used as a base for the song "The Ballad of Guiteau" in the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins, where Guiteau sings a version of the song while cakewalking up and down the scaffold.
Reading
On 30 June 1882, the day of the execution of Guiteau for the assassination of President James Garfield, Guiteau announced, after famously dancing his way to the gallows, that he would read a poem that he had written. Guiteau said that he had written the poem, entitled "I am Going to the Lordy", at about 10:00 a.m.
It was a long-held belief that Guiteau himself wrote the folk song "Charles Guiteau".[10] It is theorized that the song resulted from the truth that Guiteau wrote "I am Going to the Lordy" and was believed because of the way it was written.[11]
Text
"I am going to the Lordy, I am so glad. I am going to the Lordy, I am so glad. I am going to the Lordy, Glory hallelujah! Glory hallelujah! I am going to the Lordy!
"I love the Lordy with all my soul, Glory hallelujah! And that is the reason I am going to the Lord. Glory hallelujah! Glory hallelujah! I am going to the Lord.
"I saved my party and my land, Glory hallelujah! But they have murdered me for it, And that is the reason I am going to the Lordy. Glory hallelujah! Glory hallelujah! I am going to the Lordy!
"I wonder what I will do when I get to the Lordy, I guess that I will weep no more When I get to the Lordy! Glory hallelujah!
"I wonder what I will see when I get to the Lordy, I expect to see most splendid things, Beyond all earthly conception, When I am with the Lordy! Glory hallelujah! Glory hallelujah! I am with the Lord."
-Charles J. Guiteau
Before reciting his poem, Guiteau stated, "I am now going to read some verses which are intended to indicate my feelings at the moment of leaving this world. If set to music they may be rendered very effective. The idea is that of a child babbling to his mamma and his papa. I wrote it this morning about ten o'clock." The poem is
Reception and commentary
Many of Guiteau's contemporaries believed that he was seriously deranged, and "I am Going to the Lordy" helped exemplify their point. Combined with his behavior at the trial, which included frequent profanity and insults towards nearly everyone in the court, writing
In the musical Assassins
"I am Going to the Lordy" is a featured part of the
After Guiteau sings his poem unaccompanied and quietly, the Balladeer sings a verse, which is followed by Guiteau cakewalking up and down the scaffold and singing "Look on the Bright Side". He stops a step or two higher and begins singing the hymn again. After the third verse, Guiteau begins cakewalking when he reaches the noose and stops suddenly. He then begins singing his poem again, although this time much more forcefully and resolutely before the Balladeer interrupts and leads Guiteau to his death.[14] Jim Lovensheimer implies that the use of the cakewalk interjected in the ballad show Guiteau looking for a prize, as the best cakewalker on a plantation would be awarded a prize.[14] The lyrics of "The Ballad of Guiteau", including the parts taken from "I am Going to the Lordy", help to show Guiteau as a devoted but misguided Christian who "lost a grip on reality."[16]
Howard Kissel said that "The Ballad of Guiteau" was one of the oddest songs of Assassins due to the use of the poem.[17]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Last Words of Charles Guiteau, the Assassin of President James Garfield". Charles Guiteau (Garfield Assassination) Trial. University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-38552-626-5. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Dennis (1882). Famous Assassinations of History, from the Time of Julius Cæsar Down to the Present Day. New York: Frank Tousey. p. 78. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-61945-010-3. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-30759-341-2. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-385-73650-3. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
I am Going to the Lordy.
- ISBN 0-312-32563-0. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7658-0341-2. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-38550-403-4. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-307-36909-3. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-7432-6004-6. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-465-01487-3. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
I am Going to the Lordy.
- ISBN 0-8050-6951-8. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-52168-084-4. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ Rothstein, Mervyn (27 January 1991). "Sondheim's 'Assassins': Insane Realities of History". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ISBN 0-8153-3586-5. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-557-83554-3. Retrieved 30 June 2013.