"Go Tell It on the Mountain" is an African-American spiritual dating back to at least 1865 that has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers. It is considered a Christmas carol because its original lyric celebrates the Nativity: "Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere; go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born." In 1963, Peter Yarrow, Noel "Paul" Stookey, and Mary Travers, along with their musical director, Milt Okun, adapted and rewrote Go Tell It on the Mountain as Tell It on the Mountain, their lyrics referring specifically to Exodus and employing the line "Let my people go," but implicitly referring to the Civil Rights struggle of the early '60s. The song was recorded by Yarrow, Stookey and Travers on their Peter, Paul and Mary album In the Wind and was also a moderate hit single for them. Civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer used this rewritten version of the song as an anthem during the mid-1960s. Other artists, besides Peter, Paul and Mary, who have recorded the song (chiefly on either Christmas-themed music albums or collections of spirituals or folk songs) include:
- Simon & Garfunkel
- Bob Marley
- Mahalia Jackson
- Fred Hammond
- Kirk Franklin
- Candi Staton
- Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby
- James Taylor
- Cece Winans
- Anne Murray
- Vanessa L. Williams
- Jewel
- Dustin Kensrue
- Bruce Cockburn
- Little Big Town
- Sherill Milnes
- John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers
- Sara Evans
- Jim Nabors
- Toby Keith
- Peter Tosh
- The Blind Boys of Alabama
lyrics
<poem> Refrain Go, tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere Go, tell it on the mountain, That Jesus Christ is born. The shepherds feared and trembled, When low above the earth, Rang out the angels chorus That hailed our Savior's bi--rth. Refrain While shepherds kept their watching o’er silent flocks by night, Behold, throughout the heavens There shone a holy li--ght Refrain And lo! When they had heard it, They all bowed down to pray, Then travelled on together, To where the Baby la--y. Refrain Down in a lowly manger The humble Christ was born And God sent us salvation That blessed Christmas mo--rn. Refrain
