--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any musical person who has never heard a…" description: "\"Any musical person who has never heard a Negro congregation under the spell of religious fervor sing these old songs has missed one of the most thrilli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/james-weldon-johnson-10512_congregation_any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a_1293502.png" --- # Any musical person who has never heard a Negro… ![“Any musical person who has never heard a Negro congregation under the spell of religious fervor sing these old songs has missed one of the most thrilling emotions which the human heart may experience.” quote by James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/james-weldon-johnson-10512_congregation_any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a_1293502.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/james-weldon-johnson-10512_congregation_any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a_1293502.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/james-weldon-johnson-10512_congregation_any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a_1293502.png) > “Any musical person who has never heard a Negro congregation under the spell of religious fervor sing these old songs has missed one of the most thrilling emotions which the human heart may experience.” [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Experiencing a Black religious service evokes a powerful, unique emotional intensity. **In simple terms:** Black worship is deeply moving. Key Takeaway Seek diverse cultural experiences. Themes culture music emotion spirituality Mood awe inspired reflective Type cultural emotional observational When to use this quote - attending a gospel service - listening to spiritual recordings - participating in choir - studying music history Key Concepts African American religious tradition emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - How does this experience differ from other musical traditions? - What emotions does it stir in you? A Different Perspective May romanticize or oversimplify complex cultural practices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Congregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congregation/) [Fervor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fervor/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Old songs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-songs/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [I cannot sing the old songs, Or dream those dreams again...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-alington-barnard/i-cannot-sing-the-old-songs-or-dream-those-dreams-again/) [Charlotte Alington Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-alington-barnard/) > [I cannot sing the old songs now! It is not that I deem them low, 'Tis that I can't remember how They go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stuart-calverley/i-cannot-sing-the-old-songs-now-it-is-not-that-i-deem-them-low-tis/) [Charles Stuart Calverley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stuart-calverley/) > [I cannot sing the old songs Though well I know the tune, Familiar as a cradle-song With sleep-compelling croon; Yet though I'm filled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jones-burdette/i-cannot-sing-the-old-songs-though-well-i-know-the-tune-familiar-as-a/) Robert Jones Burdette > [I just claim to do what I do, which is to sing old songs and try to make them cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-kohanski/i-just-claim-to-do-what-i-do-which-is-to-sing-old-songs-and-try-to/) [Chloe Kohanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-kohanski/) > [I can not sing the old songs now! It is not that I deem them low, 'Tis that I can't remember how They go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stuart-calverley/i-can-not-sing-the-old-songs-now-it-is-not-that-i-deem-them-low-tis/) [Charles Stuart Calverley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stuart-calverley/) > [I cannot sing the old songs, I sang long years ago, For heart and voice would fail me, And foolish tears would flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-alington-barnard/i-cannot-sing-the-old-songs-i-sang-long-years-ago-for-heart-and-voice/) [Charlotte Alington Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-alington-barnard/) > [Droning a drowsy syncopatedtune, Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, I heard a Negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/droning-a-drowsy-syncopatedtune-rocking-back-and-forth-to-a-mellow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think that the most significant, guiding principle was that we wanted to return to a three-piece live form, whereas we became a four-piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cain/i-think-that-the-most-significant-guiding-principle-was-that-we/) [Chris Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cain/) > [It's cool when your husband starts to sing some old Merle Haggard song and I can pop in with a harmony and it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trisha-yearwood/it-s-cool-when-your-husband-starts-to-sing-some-old-merle-haggard/) [Trisha Yearwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trisha-yearwood/) > [I find it incredibly annoying to just go out and sing the old stuff and write songs that sound like the old stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waite/i-find-it-incredibly-annoying-to-just-go-out-and-sing-the-old-stuff/) [John Waite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waite/) > [If I could, I'd sing old French songs or American folk music, but I sure as hell can't do it as well as Mississippi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hozier/if-i-could-i-d-sing-old-french-songs-or-american-folk-music-but-i/) [Hozier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hozier/) > [“She was heading for the piano, and something told me that it was her intention to sing old folk songs, a pastime to which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/she-was-heading-for-the-piano-and-something-told-me-that-it-was-her/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“Life has a way of tugging you back with the tide and washing you up on the shore to deal with the living." (Sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-has-a-way-of-tugging-you-back-with-the-tide-and-washing-you-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love to sing old Motown songs to myself, or some Patti Smith Edith Piaf or Billie Holiday. That gets me in the mood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-fahey/i-love-to-sing-old-motown-songs-to-myself-or-some-patti-smith-edith/) [Siobhan Fahey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-fahey/) > [Youth should be radical. Youth should demand change in the world. Youth should not accept the old order if the world is to move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-allen-white/youth-should-be-radical-youth-should-demand-change-in-the-world-youth/) [William Allen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-allen-white/) ## More by James Weldon Johnson > [There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/there-are-a-great-many-colored-people-who-are-ashamed-of-the-cake/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [Nothing great or enduring, especially in music, has ever sprung full-fledged and unprecedented from the brain of any master; the best he gives to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/nothing-great-or-enduring-especially-in-music-has-ever-sprung-full/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty. Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/lift-every-voice-and-sing-till-earth-and-heaven-ring-ring-with-the/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [A people may become great through many means, but there is only one measure by which its greatness is recognized and acknowledged. The final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/a-people-may-become-great-through-many-means-but-there-is-only-one/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [Americans are immensely popular in Paris; and this is not due solely to the fact that they spend lots of money there, for they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/americans-are-immensely-popular-in-paris-and-this-is-not-due-solely/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [This Great God, Like a mammy bending over her baby, Kneeled down in the dust Toiling over a lump of clay Till He shaped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/this-great-god-like-a-mammy-bending-over-her-baby-kneeled-down-in-the/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [Young man, young man, your arm's too short to box with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/young-man-young-man-your-arm-s-too-short-to-box-with-god/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [Shortly after this I was made a member of the boys choir, it being found that I possessed a clear, strong soprano voice. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/shortly-after-this-i-was-made-a-member-of-the-boys-choir-it-being/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [This country can have no more democracy than it accords and guarantees to the humblest and weakest citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/this-country-can-have-no-more-democracy-than-it-accords-and/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [So God stepped over to the edge of the world And He spat out the seven seas; He batted His eyes, and the lightnings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/so-god-stepped-over-to-the-edge-of-the-world-and-he-spat-out-the/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [My mother was kept very busy with her sewing; sometimes she would have another woman helping her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/my-mother-was-kept-very-busy-with-her-sewing-sometimes-she-would-have/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/we-have-come-over-a-way-that-with-tears-has-been-watered-we-have-come/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [O Black and unknown bards of long ago, How came your lips to touch the sacred fire?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/o-black-and-unknown-bards-of-long-ago-how-came-your-lips-to-touch-the/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [Southern white people despise the Negro as a race, and will do nothing to aid in his elevation as such; but for certain individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/southern-white-people-despise-the-negro-as-a-race-and-will-do-nothing/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [Amsterdam was a great surprise to me. I had always thought of Venice as the city of canals; it had never entered my mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/amsterdam-was-a-great-surprise-to-me-i-had-always-thought-of-venice/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) [Explore all 65 James Weldon Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) ## More Congregation quotes > [Wherever God erects a house of prayer the Devil always builds a chapel there; And 't will be found, upon examination, the latter has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wherever-god-erects-a-house-of-prayer-the-devil-always-builds-a/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/and-he-that-blasphemeth-the-name-of-the-lord-he-shall-surely-be-put/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [When we see the many grave-stones which have fallen in, which have been defaced by the footsteps of the congregation, which lie buried under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/when-we-see-the-many-grave-stones-which-have-fallen-in-which-have/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [A group is as healthy as its 'social contract' is clear; a congregation as faithful as its covenant is mutually understood; a pastor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-group-is-as-healthy-as-its-social-contract-is-clear-a-congregation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To see with one's own eyes, to feel and judge without succumbing to the suggestive power of the fashion of the day, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/to-see-with-one-s-own-eyes-to-feel-and-judge-without-succumbing-to/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [But I think it's up to a local congregation to determine whether or not a marriage should be blessed of God. And it shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/but-i-think-it-s-up-to-a-local-congregation-to-determine-whether-or/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [Preachers are stewards whom the Lord has ‘set over his household servants to provide them with food at the proper time.’ After all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/preachers-are-stewards-whom-the-lord-has-set-over-his-household/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [I think it's of huge importance to us as worship leaders...to ask ourselves these two questions: What were the words we put into our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-getty/i-think-it-s-of-huge-importance-to-us-as-worship-leaders-to-ask/) [Keith Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-getty/) > [If my life is any example, the work that youth workers are doing is very, very important. It tends to get marginalized in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/if-my-life-is-any-example-the-work-that-youth-workers-are-doing-is/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [The man who follows Christ in solitary mourning is greater than he who praises Christ amid the congregation of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-of-nineveh/the-man-who-follows-christ-in-solitary-mourning-is-greater-than-he/) [Isaac of Nineveh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-of-nineveh/) > [So you find a lot of these sixth Americans congregate in these interracial congregations. They hang out together at work, at school, wherever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/so-you-find-a-lot-of-these-sixth-americans-congregate-in-these/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [ \[Joseph Ratzinger\] is a man who as the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had everything in his hands. He… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/joseph-ratzinger-is-a-man-who-as-the-prefect-of-the-congregation-for/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [ \[A novel by Henry James\] is like a church lit but without a congregation to distract you, with every light and line focused on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/a-novel-by-henry-james-is-like-a-church-lit-but-without-a/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [Jesus gives his life for the congregation, not the other way around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jesus-gives-his-life-for-the-congregation-not-the-other-way-around/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more we study the early Church, the more we realize that it was a society of ministers. About the only similarity between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/the-more-we-study-the-early-church-the-more-we-realize-that-it-was-a/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) [Browse all 242 Congregation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congregation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any musical person who has never heard a Negro congregation under the spell of religious fervor sing these old songs has missed one of the most thrilling emotions which the human heart may experience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Weldon Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a-negro-congregation-under-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Congregation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a-negro-congregation-under-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/james-weldon-johnson-10512_congregation_any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a_1293502.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/james-weldon-johnson-10512_congregation_any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a_1293502.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/james-weldon-johnson-10512_congregation_any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a_1293502.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Any musical person who has never heard a Negro congregation under the spell of religious fervor sing these…” — James Weldon Johnson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Weldon Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Any musical person who has never...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a-negro-congregation-under-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/any-musical-person-who-has-never-heard-a-negro-congregation-under-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```