An American classic, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” was a mid-19th-century African-American spritual passed down orally for who knows how many years. It first appeared in a collection called New Jubilee Songs and Folk Songs of the American Negro by John W. Work in 1907.
Passionate about lyricising the oral folk hymns of African-American culture, Work might have been the first to write the song down, but never took credit for its creation. Following the publication, the Fisk Jubilee Singers became the first-ever all-African-American group to travel the country singing these hymns as originally intended.
“Go Tell It on the Mountain” was immediately popular, but it didn’t become a Christmas staple until years later when popularized by many artists and groups in the 20th century. We can enjoy it today because of the work of this academic and music enthusiast, John Wesley Work, as well as the group of singers who were willing to travel and perform to raise money for their university.
A Christmas song to many of us now, it was a plain-old gospel song when first recorded, with lyrics that many of us have never heard:
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.
I sought both night and day
I asked the Lord to help me
And he showed me the way
Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain
Our Jesus Christ is born
Upon a city wall
And if I am a Christian
I am the least of all
Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain
Our Jesus Christ is born
Jesus wasn’t just born on Christmas, He was and is a helper to us now.
We are not just His children, we are His watchman.
