|
|
Go Tell it on the Mountain, from Family Christmas OnlineTMThis song is probably the best-known African American Christmas song - it has even found its way to hymnals in many mainline denominations. Although the chorus may date to the mid-nineteenth century, the first three verses below are generally recognized to be the work of twentieth-century African-American university professor and musicologist John Wesley Work, Jr.
In 1953, author James Baldwin use the name Go Tell it on the Mountain for the title of his best-known novel, a book about his own youth and the people who surrounded him. Although the work is hardly complementary toward the culture of the mid-twentieth-century African American church, we think John Work would have appreciated the tribute. To hear an instrumental mp3 version of the first two verses of this song - enough to give you an idea how it goes, click here. To download a free printable version of sheet music for the first two verses of this song, click here. To hear Amazon clips of various artists singing this song (and to buy any track that you like), scroll down the page. Chorus Go, tell it on the mountain,
While shepherds kept their watching
The shepherds feared and trembled,
Down in a lowly manger
When I was a sinner,
Amazon Sound Clips and RecordingsThis is a new feature to help our traditional Christmas music pages "connect" a little better to our readers in 2010. To help you get a feeling for how various artists perform this song, we're providing a link to the "sound clip" feature on Amazon. By clicking on the arrow, you can hear a 15-25 second clip from each artist. If you decide to buy and download a recording, just click on the Buy MP3 button next to the artist you want and follow the instructions.If the little boxes on the right don't have song, artist, or album names when you first view this page, try hitting the refresh button.
More Great Sound Clips of This Song
Amazon has dozens more great sound clips of this song by first-tier artists like Toby Keith, Dolly Parton, (and a few dozen that aren't so great - sorry). But if I try to put even the best ten or so on this page, it won't load very well on some computers. So if you want to browse the rest of the clips for yourself, please click the following link: If you have any corrections or comments you would like to make about this page, please contact me and I will be glad to hear from you. God bless - Paul
|
|
To return to the African American Carols page, click here.
To return to the Family Christmas OnlineTM Christmas Music Page, click here.
To return to the Family Christmas OnlineTM Home Page, click here.
Note: Family Christmas OnlineTM is a trademark of Breakthrough Communications(tm) (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are
Copyright (c) 2006, 2007 by Paul D. Race.
Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically
forbidden.
Family Christmas Online(tm) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
For more information, please contact us
-1549442-10307972" width="468" height="60" alt="Tabletop Christmas Trees are Perfect Holiday Decor" border="0"/>
Work is responsible for preserving many of the spirituals of the 1800s that would otherwise have been lost to our age, as the few remaining paper copies decayed or were lost, and the generation that knew the songs by heart was passing from the scene. It is perhaps a sign of his ability to recognize greatness in simple folk melodies and lyrics that his verses for this song are often considered a part of his "collection" rather than an original work in that style.
