Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet

February 14, 2007 8:27 PM

Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet...Scroll down and play the audio clip..."The door of the recording room opened on to one of the large painting studios and I left the tape copying, with the door open, while I went to have a cup of coffee. When I came back I found the normally lively room unnaturally subdued. People were moving about much more slowly than usual and a few were sitting alone, quietly weeping." Sez Wikipedia: Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet is a piece of music composed by Gavin Bryars in 1971. It is based around a recorded loop of an un-named tramp improvising a hymn. The track was rerecorded with Tom Waits in the 80's, and can be bought on Amazon. Originally heard on CBC's (soon to end) Northern Lights.
posted by KokuRyu (27 comments total)

I'm a big fan of this recording. I wish there was a little more meat to this post.
posted by Falconetti at 8:31 PM on February 14, 2007

I heard this a while back, when they had a "Jesus Songs" special on the radio. Mesmerizing.
posted by Jimbob at 8:33 PM on February 14, 2007

My Wikipedia link didn't work.

Here it is. Here's some more meat for the discussion.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:38 PM on February 14, 2007

I love Gavin Bryars so much. Thanks for this.
posted by serazin at 8:38 PM on February 14, 2007

The lyrics are on the Official Tom waits site.
posted by davy at 8:44 PM on February 14, 2007

Oh, I love this piece.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:44 PM on February 14, 2007

So, did Jesus' blood fail the tramp? Is the tramp making a plea or an assertion? While Jesus' blood failed him in the sense that he is a tramp, has it failed him in the sense that the he is sure (?) of his salvation? I owned the 1993 release for some time, and two girlfriends both hated, really hated, the tramp's voice. They disliked him so much that, every time I put the album on, they would assume I was passively-aggressively saying "I'm not happy with you now, so I'm playing this music you hate." There is more on the making of the piece here. Does anyone know where (legally, of course) to find the B-side to the 1993 release that supposedly made it to number 8 on the Dutch pop charts?
posted by chudder at 9:01 PM on February 14, 2007

Northern Lights is ending!? Many a time have I drifted off to sleep to the dulcet tones of Andrea Ratuski. Ah, CBC management, you never fail to disappoint. Anyone know of a good equivalent (streaming radio or podcast)?
posted by Urban Hermit at 9:04 PM on February 14, 2007

It's also the last week for "the Arts Tonight", and many other programs. CBC management is just awful.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:05 PM on February 14, 2007

So, did Jesus' blood fail the tramp? Is the tramp making a plea or an assertion? While Jesus' blood failed him in the sense that he is a tramp, has it failed him in the sense that the he is sure (?) of his salvation?

One of the many things I love about this piece is the tramp saying that Jesus' blood hasn't failed him YET. Built into that line is the possibility that at some time, that thing that's kept him going for so long might just fail. It's beautiful.
posted by bunglin jones at 9:50 PM on February 14, 2007

Oh now I remember the situation when I first heard this track.

I was working in a department store, at the time, doing nightfill. The radio was playing over the store PA system, playing the "Jesus Songs" special (on Triple J).

I remember that voice repeating "Jesus' blood never failed me yet...failed me yet..." over and over while I stacked tins of tennis balls onto the shelves. The other guys were evenly split between trace-like acceptance of the music, and "what the hell is this shit?"

Bizarre.
posted by Jimbob at 11:02 PM on February 14, 2007

We have discussed this song in various threads any number of times before and I think that perhaps Miguel Cardoso was the first to mention it here.

I had the original on vinyl, which I bought after Eno's Discreet Music, which was the first release on Obscure. It is a beautiful arrangement. The original was the pure thing. I never cared for the re-make with Tom Waits. To me it was celebrity grandstanding--I like some of things Tom Waits has done but to me that re-make with him added was an abomination.

I twonder if the Wikipedia entry about Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet may be wrong about the old man improvising the hymn. Not long after I bought The Sinking Of The Titanic, I heard a reggae re-write on the first Trojan Box set on vinyl entitled Rasta Never Fail by Ken Boothe and Lloyd Charmers, which was the first Rastafarian song to hit number one in Jamaica. It seemed to me at the time that it was recorded before the release of Bryars's The Sinking Of The Titanic on Obscure. It made me think there might be a root song for both pieces.

But then again, I see there is a documentary movie short on the IMDB with the same title and song credits given to Gavin Bryar that dates from 1972. so maybe Boothe and Charmers managed to come across the Bryars piece, obscure as it was at the time.
posted by y2karl at 12:06 AM on February 15, 2007

I have no idea why the links are super scripted there...
posted by y2karl at 12:07 AM on February 15, 2007

Well, they were before I logged off and then back on. Never mind.
posted by y2karl at 12:11 AM on February 15, 2007

I love me some modern music, and the '93 release of 'Jesus's Blood' got a lot of press and praise, so I snapped up the first copy I found.

After ten minutes, I was waiting for something, anything to interrupt the loop of the old tramp's voice. You know why Tom Waits got so much praise for his scant contribution in the final movement? It's because he wasn't that damned old man. I would have given 'performance of the year' honors to any sound which put an end to the atonal, pathetic monotony, including screaming babies and watery farts.

I've witnessed my share of student films and performance art, thankyew, but this was one of the most excruciating acts of art appreciation I've attempted. Never again, man. Not ever.
posted by ardgedee at 3:36 AM on February 15, 2007 [1 favorite]

ardgedee:

I'm glad you said that. I remember buying it unheard in the early 90's, simply because it had Tom's name on the cover. I don't think I've ever listened to the entire thing because of the sheer monotony.

It's an interesting idea in the abstract but the execution is terrible. I never understood why it has attracted such praise.
posted by pandaharma at 4:07 AM on February 15, 2007

Blast from the past. In '94 I was asked to SHORTEN this recording using a Digital Audio Workstation to create background music for an art exhibition...which would be looped throughout the duration.
posted by toastchee at 5:49 AM on February 15, 2007

I remember hearing this when I was little. I couldn't stand how repetitive it was, but it was beautiful
posted by wheelieman at 6:24 AM on February 15, 2007

Miguel Cardoso never failed us yet ........he'll be back one day....oh yes i agree with the tiresome tom waits warbling on in the background....i'd pretty much like to hear just the loop sans everything. Is there any chance of Y2 Karl making some sort of ginourmous Jamaican music post ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:25 AM on February 15, 2007

I say phooey to Miguel. If I hadn't had to wait two years to get an account to the blue...

Freaking obsessive compulsive used up a lot of good topics.
posted by Skygazer at 8:42 AM on February 15, 2007

SEE ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 12:31 PM on February 15, 2007

Am I the only one here who thinks it sounds awful? If so, I'll politely excuse myself.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 1:21 PM on February 15, 2007

No, I was pretty underwhelmed too.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:06 PM on February 15, 2007

I love Tom Waits, but I think his presence on this particular track is kind of superfluous. I kept wanting to just hear the old man sing without all the growling and plinking.
posted by EarBucket at 4:33 PM on February 15, 2007

Not really related, but the repetition makes me think of Alvin Lucier's fantastic I Am Sitting in a Room.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:36 PM on February 15, 2007

The Bells, by Dave Fischoff. I can't find the original page that told the history of this track, so I'll try to recall as well as I can. Dave found a tape with a recording of an old British war vet singing this song (which was a popular song amongst British soldiers at the time), and added some instruments to it.

Okay, so I guess there really wasn't much I needed to recall.
posted by premiumpolar at 2:08 AM on February 16, 2007

Try John Adams' 'Christian Zeal and Activity' (sound clip) for something in a similar vein.
posted by altolinguistic at 3:36 AM on February 16, 2007