“Go Tell It on the Mountain (II -- Freedom)”

Description

"Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere, Go tell it on the mountain To let my people go." The singer describes the people, clothed in various colors, coming out of bondage

Notes

The "freedom" adaptation of "Go Tell It on the Mountain" came out of the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. I list "Jamaica" as a location in the "FOUND IN" field because this version was recorded by Bob Marley long before he became an internationally-known star, when reggae was still arguably an indigenous folk style. Does this qualify within the "folk tradition"? Eyes of the beholder, perhaps, but I wanted the fact noted. - PJS

Cross references

References

  1. DT, GOTELMT2
  2. Roud #15220
  3. BI, DTgotelm

About

Author: unknown
Earliest date: 1963 (recorded by Fannie Lou Hamer)
Found in: US Jamaica