Go, Tell It on the Mountain

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Representative Text

Refrain:
Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and ev'rywhere;
go, tell it on the mountain
that Jesus Christ was born.

1 While shepherds kept their watching
o’er silent flocks by night,
behold throughout the heavens
there shone a holy light. [Refrain]

2 The shepherds feared and trembled
when lo! above the earth
rang out the angel chorus
that hailed our Savior’s birth. [Refrain]

3 Down in a lonely manger
the humble Christ was born,
and God sent us salvation
that blessed Christmas morn. [Refrain]

Source: Our Great Redeemer's Praise #203

Adapter: John W. Work

John W. Work, Jr. (b. Nashville, TN, 1872; d. Nashville, 1925), is well known for his pioneering studies of African American folk music and for his leadership in the performance of spirituals. He studied music at Fisk University in Nashville and classics at Harvard and then taught Latin, Greek, and history at Fisk from 1898 to 1923. Director of the Jubilee Singers at Fisk, Work also sang tenor in the Fisk Jubilee Quartet, which toured the country after 1909 and made commercial recordings. He was president of Roger Williams University in Nashville during the last two years of his life. Work and his brother Frederick Jerome Work (1879-1942) were devoted to collecting, arranging, and publishing African American slave songs and spirituals. They… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: While shepherds kept their watching
Title: Go, Tell It on the Mountain
Adapter: John W. Work
Meter: Irregular
Source: African-American spiritual
Place of Origin: United States
Language: English
Refrain First Line: Go, tell it on the mountain
Notes: Spanish translation: See "Pastores sus rebaños" by Anita Gonzáles
Copyright: Public Domain
Liturgical Use: Closing Songs

Notes

Scripture References:
all st. = Luke 2:8-20
ref. = Matt. 28:19

The text of this beloved spiritual was first published in Folk Song of the American Negro (1907), a study of African American folk music by John Wesley Work, Jr. (PHH 476). The song may date back to earlier sources, but evidently the original text was lost. According to Edith McFall Work, widow of John Wesley Work, III:

the verses of these songs were published by John Work, II, in place of the original ones which could not be found.

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Appearance of this hymn in hymnals191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020050100Percent of hymnalsHighcharts.com

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Include 25 pre-1979 instances
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