Hope & Faith in Turmoil: the Negro Spiritual "Ain't Got Time to Die" at San Carlos de Borromeo

Sometimes life gets tough on you. You may have personal or family problems. You may suffer heartbreak, loneliness or alienation and when you listen to the news you only hear reports about war, massacres, polarization, political violence, climate apocalypse and, on top of that, your favourite football team has lost again, all the odds are stacked against it and it is doomed for relegation to the semi-professional league... When you are in deep emotional turmoil, it is always good to remember that your only enemy in life is Death, and that singing together can raise your spirits. 

Here you can listen to the Negro spiritual Ain't Got Time to Die, performed by The Chancel Choir of the Village Church from Rancho Santa Fe (Ca), and the local Zaragozan choir Hiberi Voces at the church of the Real Seminario San Carlos Borromeo (Zaragoza) as an encore of their concert last Thursday. You can do a fill-in-the gap listening exercise and check it with the key (if you prefer to use alternative versions of the hymn, you can use the Concordia Choir, or the Howard University Chamber Choir interpretations, but the Zaragoza live performance is really friendly and vibrant). B2 students can pick up some expressions like: to praise [my Jesus], it takes [all of my] time, to cry out, the Kingdom, to feed [the poor], to give my all, to get out of your way. 

Below, you can watch the encore of the concert by The Chancel Choir of the Village Church and Hiberi Voces last Thursday, April 30th, 2026: