African-American spiritual · first printed 1907 · G major · 4/4 · 104 BPM · 16 bars · Carols
Go Tell It on the Mountain sits in Carols, written in G major. It uses 3 chords across 16 bars, at about 104 BPM.
GCD7
G
C
D7
| Chorus | G | · | C | D7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | G | · | D7 | G |
| Verse | · | · | D7 | · |
| 4 | G | · | D7 | G |
The refrain comes first: eight bars that rise to C and D7 and come home. The eight-bar verse stays on G and D7 only. Clap on two and four; it wants to swing.
| Keys | Chord chart |
|---|---|
| C major | C · F · G7 · C · G7 · C · G7 · C · G7 · C |
| Db major | Db · Gb · Ab7 · Db · Ab7 · Db · Ab7 · Db · Ab7 · Db |
| D major | D · G · A7 · D · A7 · D · A7 · D · A7 · D |
| Eb major | Eb · Ab · Bb7 · Eb · Bb7 · Eb · Bb7 · Eb · Bb7 · Eb |
| E major | E · A · B7 · E · B7 · E · B7 · E · B7 · E |
| F major | F · Bb · C7 · F · C7 · F · C7 · F · C7 · F |
| F# major | F# · B · C#7 · F# · C#7 · F# · C#7 · F# · C#7 · F# |
| G major · Written in this key | G · C · D7 · G · D7 · G · D7 · G · D7 · G |
| Ab major | Ab · Db · Eb7 · Ab · Eb7 · Ab · Eb7 · Ab · Eb7 · Ab |
| A major | A · D · E7 · A · E7 · A · E7 · A · E7 · A |
| Bb major | Bb · Eb · F7 · Bb · F7 · Bb · F7 · Bb · F7 · Bb |
| B major | B · E · F#7 · B · F#7 · B · F#7 · B · F#7 · B |
A spiritual sung since at least 1865 and first printed in 1907 in John Wesley Work’s Folk Songs of the American Negro. Work died in 1925, so even his edition cleared life-plus-70 in 1995, and the song itself has no identifiable composer. Free everywhere.