Come By Here

You may know Come By Here as “Kumbaya,” but did you ever wonder where it came from? Reading suggests Come by Yuh or Yah, a Gullah word meaning “here,” is the phrase that morphed into kumbaya over time. Despite common misconceptions, Kum ba yah are not African language words. This song is most likely an African American spiritual which originated somewhere in the American south, then traveled all over the world. It is truly a global folksong. For more reading, click here. This is transcribed from the earliest recording in Library of Congress. Come By Here is in the Key of C Major and includes Lyrics + Solfege. This version of Come By Here is fun, syncopated, and should be played at a lively tempo.