Go, Tell It on the Mountain

Representative Text

Refrain:
Go tell it on the mountain,
over the hills, and ev'rywhere;
go, tell it on the mountain
that Jesus Christ is 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 lowly manger
the humble Christ was born,
and God sent us salvation
that blessed Christmas morn. [Refrain]

Source: Christian Worship: Hymnal #361

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 >

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. In 1940 John Work, III, had the songs copyrighted and published [at 215] in his book American Negro Songs.”
-Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal, p. 360

In American Negro Songs and Spiritual (1940), John Wesley Work, III, attributes the newer text to his uncle Frederick J. Work. "He may have composed it" [the tune], wrote J. W. Work, III. "I know he composed the verses." John, III, recalled that when he was a child, the students at Fisk University began singing this before daybreak on Christmas morning, going from building to building. Later, his arrangement for use in choral concerts by the Fisk Jubilee Singers helped to popularize the spiritual.

The refrain theme comes from Old Testament passages in which praise to God for his acts of deliverance was often shouted, both literally and metaphorically, from the mountaintops (Isa. 42:11). While the three stanzas tell the essence of the Christmas story, the refrain underscores the missionary impetus of the Christian church: "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19). The "go, tell," which initially applied to the singers caroling on the university campus, is a signal for us to leave the comfortable confines of Christian worship and "go, tell" the message of Christ's redemption to the whole world.

Because of the spiritual's oral tradition, variants in text and melody exist. A textual variant for "Go, Tell It" is an Easter version with the following refrain text:

Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus lives again.

Liturgical Use:
Christmas morning; a Christmas candlelight service; "carols from many lands" service; the refrain could be used by itself as a chorus on Christmas Day, or it could be combined with the Easter refrain version (see above) and used during worship services that focus on missions.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Note: The book American Negro Songs and Spirituals: A Comprehensive Collection of 230 Folk Songs, Religious and Secular, with a forward by John W. Work (1940), states that "These verses were supplied by John Work Sr. in place of the original ones which could not be found." (p. 215). The song is not contained in any known edition of Folk Songs of the American Negro (1907); it was first printed in Religious Folk Songs of the Negro (1909) at Hampton University.

Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
The Cyber Hymnal #1993
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #356
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
Worship and Rejoice #218
With Heart and Voice: songs for all God's children #84
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 82 of 82)

A New Hymnal for Colleges and Schools #223

African American Heritage Hymnal #202

TextPage Scan

African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal #122

Ambassador Hymnal #44

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #233

TextAudio

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #95

Text

Baptist Hymnal 2008 #182

TextPage Scan

Breaking Bread (Vol. 39) #99

TextPage Scan

Breaking Bread (Vol. 39) #100

Text

Celebrating Grace Hymnal #143

Chalice Carols #21

Text

Chalice Hymnal #167

Page Scan

Christian Worship (1993) #57

TextPage Scan

Christian Worship #361

Church Gospel Songs and Hymns #695

Page Scan

Community of Christ Sings #409

Text

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #243

Text

CPWI Hymnal #65

TextAudioPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #290

Gather (3rd ed.) #428

Page Scan

Gather Comprehensive #359

Gather Comprehensive, Second Edition #363

Text

Global Songs 2 #36

TextPage Scan

Glory and Praise (3rd. ed.) #242

Text InfoTextAudio

Glory to God #136

Hymns and Psalms #135

TextPage Scan

Hymns for a Pilgrim People #110

TextPage Scan

Hymns of Faith #127

TextPage Scan

Hymns of Promise #160

Hymns of the Saints #249

Text

Journeysongs (2nd ed.) #352

TextPage Scan

Journeysongs (3rd ed.) #311

Text

Lead Me, Guide Me (2nd ed.) #253

Text

Lift Every Voice and Sing II #21

TextFlexScoreAudio

Lift Up Your Hearts #93

TextPage Scan

Lutheran Service Book #388

TextPage Scan

Lutheran Worship #504

TextPage Scan

One in Faith #395

Text

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism #263

Oramos Cantando = We Pray In Song #372

Praise y Adoración #216a

Praise! Our Songs and Hymns #176

Text InfoTune InfoTextScoreAudio

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #356

Page Scan

Rejoice Hymns #205

Page Scan

Rejoice in the Lord #224

Text

RitualSong (2nd ed.) #530

Text

RitualSong #514

Rock of Ages A Worship and Songbook for Retirement Living #51

Santo, Santo, Santo #90

TextPage Scan

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #121

TextPage Scan

Sing Joyfully #216

Page Scan

Singing Our Faith #114

Text

Singing the Living Tradition #239

Audio

Small Church Music #57

Text

Songs for Life #131

TextPage Scan

Songs of Zion #75

TextPage Scan

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #101

TextPage Scan

The Book of Praise #133

TextPage Scan

The Celebration Hymnal #258

The Christian Life Hymnal #132

The Covenant Hymnal #188

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #1993

Text

The Hymnal 1982 #99

Text

The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration #138

Text

The New Century Hymnal #154

TextPage Scan

The New National Baptist Hymnal (21st Century Edition) #92

Text

The Presbyterian Hymnal #29

TextAudio

The United Methodist Hymnal #251

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

The Worshiping Church #151

TextPage Scan

This Far By Faith #52

Text

Total Praise #214

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #224

Text

Voices Together #252

Text

Voices United #43

TextScoreAudio

With Heart and Voice #84

Text

Worship (3rd ed.) #397

Text

Worship (4th ed.) #428

TextScoreFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Worship and Rejoice #218

Worship His Majesty #139

Text

Worship in Song #79

TextPage Scan

Worship Supplement 2000 #706

TextPage Scan

Yes, Lord! #215

Include 25 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us