Two Contemporary Versions Of "Go Tell It On The mountain" (with information & lyrics)

The Kingdom Choir - Dec. 15, 2021

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This version used the standard lyrics for this Christmas song but sings them in a contemporary gospelized style.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases YouTube videos of two contemporary versions of "Go Tell It On The Mountain". 

Information about "Go Tell It On The Mountain" is presented in this post along with the traditional lyrics and the lyrics that are sung in the 2021 television movie Kirk Franklin's A Gospel Christmas.

The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to John Wesley Work, Jr. for collecting and standardizing lyrics to "Go Tell It On The Mountain". Thanks to Kirk Franklin for his contemporary version of the song, and thanks to all those who are featured in these showcased video. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT "GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN" & THAT SONG'S STANDARD LYRICS
From  https://gaither.com/go-tell-it-on-the-mountain-the-story-behind-the-song/
"John Wesley Work, Jr., may not have originated the Negro spiritual “Go, Tell It on the Mountain,” but he can take credit for the fact that we still sing it every Christmas.  As the son of a church choir director, Work grew up in Nashville loving music.  Even though he earned his Master’s in Latin and went on to teach ancient Latin and Greek, his first love continued to be music, and he went on to become the first African-American collector of Negro spirituals.  This proved to be a daunting task for Work because they were passed down orally, from plantation to plantation; very few were ever written down.  But Work proved up to the challenge, publishing his first book, New Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, in Songs of the American Negro, six years later.  It was in this second volume that “Go, Tell It on the Mountain” first appeared.  The original singers of the song fulfilled the same important task the angels gave the shepherds that first Christmas night outside of Bethlehem, proclaiming, “that Jesus Christ is born!”  And thanks to John Wesley Work, so can we.

 Go, Tell It On the Mountain

John Wesley Work, Jr., 1907

 Refrain:

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

While shepherds kept their watching
Over silent flocks by night
Behold throughout the heavens
There shone a holy light.

Refrain

The shepherds feared and trembled,
When lo! Above the earth,
Rang out the angels chorus
That hailed the Savior’s birth.

Refrain

Down in a lowly manger
The humble Christ was born
And God sent us salvation
That blessed Christmas morn.

Refrain

[end of song]

[…]

This story is an excerpt from the Gaither Homecoming Bible, published by Thomas Nelson Publishing (2012)."
-snip-
The referent "American Negro" is outdated and has been replaced by African American and/or "Black American."

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2: Kirk Franklin's A Gospel Christmas | Go Tell It on the Mountain

Movie Clips, Dec. 12, 2021
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Click https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15515414/ for information about this 2021 made for Lifetime (channel) television movie entitled Kirk Franklin's A Gospel Christmas.

The lead singer is Angela Birchett.

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LYRICS - GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN
(Kirk Franklin's version)

[Intro: Kirk Franklin]

Listen, I hope you don't mind this holiday season

If we take it back just a minute here

'Cause I know some people are getting excited about material things

But I wish I could get a church in here, uh-huh

That knows that Jesus is the reason for the season

Can I get one witness in here?

Said, can I get one witness in here?

Here we go, say it

Sing, mother

[Chorus: Female Lead]

Go tell it on the moun—, mountain

Over the hills and everywhere

Go, go tell it on the mountain

That, that Jesus Christ is born (Go girl)

[Bridge: Female Lead, Choir]

I want you to go (Tell it, He's up here)

I want you to go (Tell it, He's our Savior, and Master)

Oh, go (Tell it, He's a deliverer)

Oh, go (Go), go (Go)

Tell 'em that Jesus

(That Jesus Christ is born)

Born, tell 'em that Jesus

(That Jesus Christ is born)

Born, born (Go, tell it)

Go, tell it (Go tell it)

All about the Lord (Tell it)

You oughta go tell it (Go, tell it)

Born in a manger (Tell it)

Go tell it (Go tell it)

Go run and tell all about it (Tell it)

Come on in here

Go tell it (Tell it)

All about the Lord, tell it (Go tell it)

Go tell it (Tell it)

The Savior's born

You oughta tell it

Born is the King

You oughta tell it

Go tell it (Go tell it)

That Jesus (That Jesus Christ)

Tell them that Jesus (That Jesus Christ)

Oh, Jesus (That Jesus Christ)

Oh, Jesus (That Jesus Christ is born)

[Outro: Female Lead, Choir, Kirk Franklin]

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

(You better come on in here, sister, good God Almighty)

(Ooh-ooh) Ooh, ooh, ooh

Oh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh

Wrapped in swaddling clothes, ooh, ooh

That Jesus (That Jesus Christ is born)

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Put those blessed hands together

Say hallelujah, say hallelujah, say it

Good God this evening

Pick 'em up, put 'em down

Pick 'em up, put 'em down

-snip-
Online source:  https://genius.com/Kirk-franklin-go-tell-it-on-the-mountain-lyrics

A recording of this version was  originally released on Kirk Franklin's Christmas (album), Nov. 7, 1995

The words in parenthesis are either sung or spoken.

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