Glory to God ‎#136

136. Go, Tell It on the Mountain

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Refrain:
Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere;
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]

Text Information

• First Line: While shepherds kept their watching
• Title: Go, Tell It on the Mountain
• Author (stanzas): John W. Work II (1940)
• Refrain First Line: Go, tell it on the mountain
• Meter: 7.6.7.6 with refrain
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 2013
• Scripture:
  Isaiah 40:9
  ;
  Isaiah 52:7
  ;
  Matthew 1:21
  ;
  Luke 2:6-20
• Topic: Christian Year: Nativity/Christmas; Christian Year: Epiphany; Jesus Christ: Birth
• Source: African American spiritual

Tune Information

• Name: GO TELL IT
• Arranger: John W. Work III (1940)
• Harmonizer: Melva Wilson Costen (1987)
• Meter: 7.6.7.6 with refrain
• Key: F Major
• Source: African American spiritual
• Copyright: Harm. © 1989 Melva Wilson Costen

Text Information:

Like other material from oral traditions, 19th-century African American spirituals flourished without being written down. Their refrains were their most stable parts, and narrative stanzas were often improvised to fit. These Nativity stanzas attempt to recall that tradition.