Today I was walking down a hallway at work, having just finished a meeting and on to the next one. Suddenly “I Am Weary, Let Me Rest” pops into my head and hasn’t gone away. Luckily, I really like this song!
The version in my head is from the first time that a small group of jamming friends tried this song. We were at Gilbert Nelson’s Wernick Method camp near Bristol TN/VA, and it was about 10:00 at night, after a fun evening of performances by the campers and teachers. We decided to gather for one more jam. I was on guitar, Susan on mandolin, and our friend Alan Short (he of Oak City String Band fame) on bass. Susan was singing lead, and Alan and I jumped in on harmony. And it was FANTASTIC! One of those musical moments that gives you chills. We were all hitting our parts, and the song really is great for 3 parts. We jammed another 30-40 minutes, and that was the ONLY song that we played! Over and over and over, and still it wasn’t enough.
This tune was written by Pete Kuykendall in the late 1950s (I can’t find an exact date) and was recorded by the Stanley Brothers in 1977 for their Clinch Mountain Gospel Album. Here’s a version done by the Cox Family, made famous in the Oh Brother movie. Some versions insert a 4 chord at the start of the 3rd line of the chorus, but I really prefer sticking to the 1 chord.