Steal Away to Jesus

Refrain

Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus!
Steal away, steal away home,
I ain’t got long to stay here.

My Lord, He calls me,
He calls me by the thunder;
The trumpet sounds within my soul,
I ain’t got long to stay here.

Refrain

Green trees are bending,
Poor sinners stand a-trembling;
The trumpet sounds within my soul,
I ain’t got long to stay here.

Refrain

My Lord, He calls me,
He calls me by the lightning;
The trumpet sounds within my soul,
I ain’t got long to stay here.

Author: Unknown

This is an anonymous African American spiritual from the 19th century. No individual author is documented; it emerged from the oral tradition of enslaved people in the American South. Sometimes associated with the Underground Railroad or coded escape messages, but no specific writer is known.