John Wesley Work, Jr. – Go Tell It On The Mountain

This song’s authorship is unknown, part of many African-American spiritual songs during the 1800s.  John Wesley Work Jr. compiled, popularized, and compiled this classic, often credited as the author of this work.  It has been covered by several Christian and secular artists, including Need to Breathe, Anthem Lights, Sara Evans, and Simon & Garfunkel.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

The thrust of this song focuses on Luke’s Christmas account, specifically, where the shepherds are shepherding, receive an announcement from an angel, observe the angelic hosts, visit Baby Jesus, and spread the news to others.  It invites us to preach the Christmas story to others.

This song follows basic format.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

The entire song aligns with God’s inspired Word.

The lyrics are public domain.

[Refrain]

Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born!

This section has two contexts.  The first is historical, that the angels’ announcement of Christ’s birth prompted the shepherds to visit Jesus and tell others about Him (Luke 2:8-18).  The second is for us, that we should do the same.

[Verse 1]

While shepherds kept their watching
O’er silent flocks by night
Behold throughout the heavens
There shone a holy light

Luke 2:8-9 describes the shepherds, that they were keeping their flocks by night, and that the glory of the Lord shone around them, consistent with Work’s description of “holy light”.

[Verse 2]

The shepherds feared and trembled
When lo! Above the Earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Savior’s birth

Luke 2:9-10 describes the shepherd’s response to observing the heavenly host; a multitude of angels.  Yes, they trembled at the sight, prompting the angel to say, “do not be afraid”.

As for the angels themselves, Work accurately describes their method of communication: they are saying (Luke 2:13); However, the word Chorus has many definitions, most of which fit under the singing umbrella and some do not.  Here, Work describes a band of angels who utter sounds in unison, but makes it clear in line 4 that the angels aren’t singing.  This seems to fit best with definition #3 or #4.

[Verse 3]

Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born

This is based on Luke 2:7, which describes Mary’s giving birth to Jesus and placing Him in a manger.  I’m not sure if Mary literally gave birth to Jesus in the manger (Scripture does not say), but I’ll let that slide.

And God sent us salvation
That blessed Christmas morn

It says in Revelation 13:8 that Christ was slain from the foundation of the world.  That doesn’t mean that He was killed once to see if “it would work” to remove sins, but that the Father intended from the beginning that His Son would pay this price.  While in one sense, salvation hasn’t occurred yet (Jesus was born and did not die), it is this passage in Revelation that sets the context for interpretation.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

The elements described in section 1 should be familiar to many to most unbelievers.  Work uses language that is accessible, easily lending them to conclude its associations with Christianity, particularly its Christmas elements of shepherds, angels, and baby Jesus.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Christ in its faithful adaptation of Luke’s account of the visiting shepherds and Jesus as our salvation.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

John Wesley Work, Jr.’s Go Tell It On The Mountain is awesome.  Its strength lies in simplicity, reiterating part of the Christmas story about the visiting shepherds and subsequent proclamation to the masses that is plain language, easing unbeliever interpretation.  Yet, it also remains faithful to the original text, accurately describing Luke’s words.  This balance between simplicity and integrity is the draw that keeps this song popular today.

While I can’t recommend it for corporate worship, it’s a great classic that deserves to be sung in December.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Go Tell It On The Mountain (listen to Need To Breathe’s version of this song)

Artist: John Wesley Work, Jr.

Album: N/A

Genre: Christmas, Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year:  1909 (earliest publication)

Duration: N/A

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