"The Old Time Religion" is a from the African American spiritual tradition, dating back to the mid-19th century. Charles D. Tillman heard it at a camp meeting in 1889 and published an arrangement of it, bringing it to the attention of white audiences. Since then it has been consistently popular in both folk and religious circles. We sing five verses in the video, but many more exist, including the following:
It was good for our mothers
It has saved all our fathers
It was good for the Hebrew children
It was good for the prophet Daniel
Makes me love the good old Bible
It will lead me to Jesus
It is good in time of trouble
Come and go with us to glory.
The song has been recorded extensively and has appeared in several movie scores including Sergeant York (1941) and Inherit the Wind (1960).
There have also been many parodies written, most notably this one performed by Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie on the Precious Friend album.
Old Time Religion