Trouble Of The World

Album: Mahalia Jackson Sings America's Favorite Hymns (1959)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The traditional spiritual was originally sung by enslaved African Americans. It carries a message of hope and emancipation that one day they would leave all their troubles behind when they die and go to heaven. Not only will they go to live with the Lord, but they will be reunited with their mothers.
  • Mahalia Jackson made the gospel song famous in the 1959 film Imitation Of Life. The Queen of Gospel played a church choir soloist performing the hymn at a lavish funeral while the congregation sob and dab at their eyes.
  • Sinead O'Connor recorded "Trouble Of The World" in aid of the Black Lives Matter movement and as a tribute to Mahalia Jackson. Her first single in six years, she released it on October 2, 2020.

    "There became this incredible movement that I found really moving with these women in the streets saying that when George Floyd called his mother, he called all the mothers, she explained to Mojo magazine. "It made me feel that this was the right time to release a record, because my Mahalia was a very strong mothering figure and a huge figure in the Civil Rights Movement."

    O'Connor added it is not a bleak song. "It's written that the world will become the Garden of Eden which it was intended to be, and that to me is what the song is saying."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Actors With Hit Songs

Actors With Hit SongsMusic Quiz

Many actors have attempted music, but only a few have managed a hit. Do you know which of these thespians charted?

Charles Fox

Charles FoxSongwriter Interviews

After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?