This page is provided so that you can hear the tunes of items which we use in church. Mostly they are written by the vicar. Please note that they are copyright - we are very happy to give permission to you to use them, but we would like to hear about it. Please include any use on your Christian Copyright Licence returns.
Down this page:
- the words,
- the story,
- the sheet music,
- media player.
Good Friday Blues
Good Friday Blues
I woke up in the morning, I was dreading the day,
it was Passover time when the Jews start to play:
they slaughter all the lambs and they paint the doors with blood,
and it makes them feel all happy, but I don't feel good:
I've got the Good Friday blues,
The Good Friday blues,
I'll bet you'd have them too
If you worked with the Jews!
They dragged a man before me and they said he was a king,
I looked him up and down, he was an inoffensive thing!
"Are you a king?" I asked him, and he answered me "I AM!"
But when they all accused him, he shut up like a clam!
I've got the Good Friday blues,
The Good Friday blues,
They wanted me to crucify
this Goody Two Shoes!
I sat there like a judge, feeling all kind o' chewed,
My wife had sent a message: "Wash your hands o' that dude!
I've dreamed about that Jesus and it made my head spin,
So keep away, you don't know all the trouble you'll be in."
I've got the Good Friday blues,
The Good Friday blues,
The trouble he can cause you,
this "King of the Jews"!
I offered to release him but they all shouted: "No!
Release Barabbas for us, but don't let HIM go!
We think he is blaspheming and for that he must die:
so crucify him, nail him on a cross up on high!"
I've got the Good Friday blues,
The Good Friday blues,
I washed my hands before them
and I told them: "You choose!"
They stripped him and they flogged him and they mocked him that day,
They made a crown of thorns for him and led him away,
Thank God I didn't see it when they nailed him up high!
But noon that dreadful day a blackness covered the sky.
I've got the Good Friday blues,
The Good Friday blues,
Why did the sky go black?
Who was this "King of the Jews"?
Words and tune copyright © John Hartley 2006.
Story behind the song
The words of this song were written following a challenge on the "Christians on the Internet" (COIN) music e-mail chat group, and are based on Matthew 27:11-45. So it's dedicated to Ron N. Thanks, Ron!
Although I wrote the tune out of my own head, I don't feel it is original to me: I feel it is part of blues-folklore. I acknowledge help from Count Baisie with the scoring of the piano, bass and drum parts - quite a lot of the ideas are stolen from "Count on the Blues".
I would normally try to display the sheet music below so that people could be helped fitting the tune to the words. I will do so if someone contacts me and tells me that it's worth the effort.
John Hartley
Windows Media Player. When you click the left-hand "play" button your computer should have started to play the tune. If it didn't, you might be able to get the tune by clicking here, or by right-clicking the link, choosing "save target as", saving it onto your computer, and then opening it with a music-playing program.
Please remember that a midi file of a tune isn't supposed to be a state-of-the-art musical arrangement - it is only supposed to give a basic idea of how the tune goes. Any reasonable organist / keyboard player / music group could make it sound far better.