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
AUTHOR: unknown (but the new lyrics have been attributed to Fannie Lou Hamer)
EARLIEST DATE: 1963 (recorded by Fannie Lou Hamer)
KEYWORDS: religious freedom nonballad travel
FOUND IN: US West Indies(Jamaica)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
DT, GOTELMT2
Roud #15220
RECORDINGS:
Fannie Lou Hamer, "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (on Voices Civ)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Go Tell It on the Mountain (I -- Christmas)"
cf. "Jesus Setta Me Free" (lyrics)
NOTES [79 words]: 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 ta variant ("set my people free") of 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
Last updated in version 5.0
File: DTgotelm

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