[CHAPTER 6] — BYE AND BYE I’M GOING TO SEE THE KING

The music of Willie Johnson

Bye and bye I am going to see the King

Bye and Bye I’m Going to See the King, like a number of Blind Willie Johnson’s songs, is a traditional song arising from the African-American community. Common to a number of these songs is an emphasis on the death and judgement that we all must face at some point in our future. At first, this song struck me as a hopeful and happy-sounding song about the future. As the old hymn would have us believe, the bye and bye is supposed to be “sweet”.

Although I was not familiar with Johnson’s song until very recently, the idea of “going to see the King” as a clear reference to seeing Jesus face to face was something that I grew up with. In my childhood, the Andrae Crouch song, “Soon and Very Soon” was a gospel tune that I am sure we must have sung countless times in church as it left an indelible mark in my mind. Crouch’s song was a completely hope-inspiring one; according to the lyrics, going to see the King meant that there would be “no more crying there” and “no more dying there”. Despite the feel of the music, Johnson’s song about the bye and bye is a very different one when it comes to the messaging.

There is something eerie about this song. As far as I can gather, this traditional song has a number of variations, but typically it is built around several verses, with each of the verses having a different line that is repeated three times, but the fourth and final line of each stanza has the phrase “I wouldn’t mind dying if dying was all”. The eerie part for me, and I have only noticed this in Johnson’s version, is that until the very last time it comes up in the song, Johnson never sings the last word, “all”. Instead, Johnson allows his guitar to sing the note. I cannot be sure it was intended, but the effect this has on me is to give the impression that what Johnson is singing about is so terrifying that it is unspeakable; he cannot even finish the sentence.

After death you’ve got to stand a test
Well I wouldn’t mind dying if dying was all

For many, if not most people, the fear of death is a genuine fear. I am willing to concede that most people probably are not thinking about their impending death on a daily basis, but for some, this will be true. Whilst you can put it out of your mind for the most part, things happen in life to bring the fear of death back into our conscious awareness. Within the Christian worldview, fear of death is how the devil holds humanity in slavery. Christians confess that the death of Jesus broke this bondage, and humanity has been liberated; set free from the fear of death. Whilst the fear of death is something to be named, it must also be something relinquished through faith in a once-dead, now alive crucified messiah.

Jesus once commanded his followers to shift their fears from people who might kill them, to God, who can destroy them. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”¹ What does this mean? Is there a fate worse than death? From the earliest days of the Christian movement, the proclamation was that a day has been set when Jesus will judge the living and the dead.

The message of judgement was a message of justice for people under oppression. This was the case in the first century for those living under Caesar’s rule and it was also the case of those living in the American south in the days of slavery. A future that will involve righting the wrongs experienced in this world is a future to look forward to in hope. As a carefully worded warning, it makes sense to tell people that I wouldn’t mind facing death, if it were not for the fact that I will be held accountable for the life that I had lived.

It is one thing to warn other people about the judgement they will face; it is quite another thing to consider how we will also face this judgement ourselves. Whilst it is well known that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, it is also true that perfect love casts out fear. What shall we make of this? Is fearing God a necessary precursor to loving God? This kind of fear must be one that draws us into the life of God and never away from it. For Johnson, one thing was clear, when it comes to thinking about the impending judgement we will face, the posture we must take is one that says It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine.

1. Matthew 10:28 New International Version