rejoice when you die

From the inspiration of songs like “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In,” a unique venue for spiritual expression developed in the form of the New Orleans jazz funeral. “Rejoice when you die” became the theme of this late-eighteenth-century phenomenon, in which slaves transplanted from Africa wanted to make sure that their loved ones, who had sacrificed so much in life, would not be forgotten in death. A band would play dirges as it accompanied mourners to a burial site, and then joyously go into an up tempo once the body had been interred. It was now time for jubilation. “Lord, Lord, Lord, You been so good to me. You saved my soul from sin and shame,” went one of the more popular funeral spirituals.

One Nation Under God: The History of Prayer in America by James P. Moore, Jr. Doubleday, 2005. p.128