page_title: Down in the River to Pray
section_title: Lyrics and versions
hierarchical_section_title: Down in the River to Pray / Lyrics and versions
caption_attribution_description: English: Song 'Come, let us all go down', an early version of the song that became known as 'Down in the River to Pray'. This is the version as sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
context_page_description: "Down in the River to Pray" is a traditional American song variously described as a Christian folk hymn, an African-American spiritual, an Appalachian song, and a southern gospel song. The exact origin of the song is unknown. Research suggests that it was composed by an African-American slave.
context_section_description: The earliest known version of the song, titled "The Good Old Way," was published in Slave Songs of the United States in 1867. The song (#104) was contributed to that book by George H. Allan of Nashville, Tennessee, who may also have been the transcriber. The lyrics printed in this collection are:
  As I went down in the valley to pray,
  
  Studying about that good old way,
  
  When you shall wear the starry crown,
  
  Good Lord, show me the way.
  
  O mourner, let's go down, let's go down, let's go down,
  
  O mourner, let's go down,
  
  Down in the valley to pray
  Another version, titled "Come, Let Us All Go Down," was published in 1880 in The Story of the Jubilee Singers; With Their Songs, a book about the Fisk Jubilee Singers. 
  This version also refers to a valley rather than a river; the first verse is:
  As I went down in the valley to pray,
  
  Studying about that good old way;
  
  You shall wear the starry crown,
  
  Good Lord, show me the way.
  
  By-and-by we'll all go down, all go down, all go down,
  
  By-and-by we'll all go down,
  
  Down in the valley to pray.
  In some versions, "in the river" is replaced by "to the river". The phrase "in the river" is significant, for two reasons. The more obvious reason is that the song has often been sung at outdoor baptisms (such as the full-immersion baptism depicted in the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?). Another reason is that many slave songs contained coded messages for escaping. When the slaves escaped, they would walk in the river because the water would cover their scent from the bounty-hunters' dogs. Similarly, the "starry crown" could refer to navigating their escape by the stars. And "Good Lord, show me the way" could be a prayer for God's guidance to find the escape route, commonly known as "the Underground Railroad."
caption: Version of the song as sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers
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