Sinner Man, also known as Oppressor Man and Downpressor Man, is a traditional African American spiritual song. It has been recorded by Les Baxter, the Swan Silvertones, the Weavers, Nina Simone and, most recently, as ska and reggae versions by Peter Tosh and The Wailers.
Run to the Rock | Peter Kun Frary
Sinner Man Musings
The lyrics of Sinner Man describe a sinner attempting to hide from God's wrath during the tribulation and coming divine judgment. Here's the first verse:
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to? Sinner man where you gonna run to? Where you gonna run to? All on that day.
Study Tips
Sinner Man should be performed with a moderate or faster reggae (Jamaican) tempo and feel. In the track below, I play the repeated section three times (rather than two) and add embellishments to the melody during the second and third repeats.
Reggae Strum
The Reggae strum works in quadruple meter, i.e., 4/4 meter. Here's how to do it:
Strum downwards four times per measure.
Mute beats 1 and 3. Chords on beats 2 and 4 should be clear.
The down strum may be done with the thumb for a mellow tone or with the nail of the index for a brighter timbre.
There are many ways to mute the strings but the easiest method is the left-hand mute, sometimes called chucking. We recommend muting on beats 1 and 3 by releasing the chord and gently laying the left-hand fingers across the strings on the fingerboard. Basically you touch the strings but don't press. The resulting sound, when strummed, should be a muffled "chuck"with no clear pitch.
Optional Intro
In the track below, I recorded an optional 4-bar introduction for Sinner Man. It's a simple vamp consisting of the first 4 bars of the song, i.e., four measures of Dmin chord. An optional intro is used to help set the mood and get the attention of the audience before the melody kicks in.
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Sinner Man Musings
Study Tips
Reggae Strum
