Down in the river to Pray - wikipedia Down in the river to Pray `` Down in the River to Pray '' Sheet music cover Song Published 1867 ( 1867 ) Genre Gospel music Songwriter ( s ) Traditional `` Down in the River to Pray '' ( also known as `` Down to the River to Pray, '' `` Down in the Valley to Pray, '' `` The Good Old Way, '' and `` Come, Let Us All Go Down '' ) is a traditional American song variously described as a Christian folk hymn, an African - American spiritual, an Appalachian song, and a gospel song. The exact origin of the song is unknown. Research suggests that it was composed by an African - American slave. Contents 1 Lyrics and versions 2 Notable recordings 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Lyrics and versions 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 ) is credited to `` Mr. G.H. Allan '' of Nashville, Tennessee, who was likely the transcriber rather than the author. According to some sources, the song was published in The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion in 1835, decades before the effort to gather and publish Negro spirituals gained momentum in the Reconstruction Era. There is in fact a song called `` The Good Old Way '' in the Southern Harmony Hymnal. That song, however, is a Manx hymn with a completely different melody and lyrics. The lyrics begin as follows : Lift up your heads, Immanuel 's friends And taste the pleasure Jesus sends Let nothing cause you to delay But hasten on the good old way 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. That version also refers to a valley rather than a river. 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 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. '' Notable recordings 1927 : Price Family Sacred Singers ( Okeh 40796 ) 1929 : Delta Big Four from Screamin ' and Hollerin ' the Blues : The Worlds of Charley Patton ( Gennett Records ) 1940 : Lead Belly from Let It Shine On Me -- The Library Of Congress Recordings, V. 3 ( New Rounder ) 1966 : Doc Watson from Home Again ! ( Vanguard Records ) 1970 : Arlo Guthrie, single, Reprise Records 0951 2000 : Alison Krauss from O Brother, Where Art Thou ? ( Lost Highway / Mercury ) 2002 : Alison Krauss from Live ( Rounder ) 2003 : Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs and Alison Krauss from The Three Pickers ( Rounder / Umgd ) 2005 : The King 's Singers from Six ( Signum UK ) 2005 : Jill Johnson from The Christmas in You ( Lionheart Records ) 2009 : Mormon Tabernacle Choir from Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing : American Folk Hymns & Spirituals ( Mormon Tabernacle Choir ) 2012 : Sonya Isaacs from Hymns from the Old Country Church ( Spring Hill Music Group ) 2014 : Nia Frazier performed a solo to a version of the song on Lifetime 's Dance Moms 2014 : Noah Gundersen partially covered the song on his 2014 album `` Ledges ''. It was titled `` Poor Man 's Son. '' 2015 : DeAnna Johnson performed on The Voice ( U.S. season 8 ). See also Songs of the Underground Railroad References ^ Jump up to : Slave Songs of the United States at Internet Archive ^ Jump up to : `` Let 's Go Down in the River to Pray '', Martin Barillas, SperoNews, April 13, 2011 Jump up ^ `` The Good Old Way '', Southern Harmony Online Jump up ^ `` The Good Old Way / Sweet Hope of Glory '', Mainly Norfolk : English Folk and Other Good Music Jump up ^ `` Come, Let Us All Go Down '' Archived October 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. in The Story of the Jubilee Singers ; With Their Songs, NIU Libraries Digitization Projects Jump up ^ Smith, Jessie Carney ( 2010 ). Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture. ABC - CLIO. p. 466. ISBN 9780313357978. Jump up ^ `` Sweet Chariot : The Story of the Spirituals ''. SpiritualsProject. Retrieved 28 March 2015. Jump up ^ Okeh 40000 series numerical listing pt. 2 at the Online Discographical Project Jump up ^ `` Down in the valley to pray '' at Library of Congress External links Choral arrangements at ChoralWiki `` Come, Let Us All Go Down '' at Bluegrass Messengers website Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Down_in_the_River_to_Pray&oldid=806378641 '' Categories : African - American spiritual songs Alison Krauss songs Bluegrass songs American Christian hymns Gospel songs Jill Johnson songs Appalachian folk songs Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Italiano Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 21 October 2017, at 17 : 02. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. 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Question: let's go down to the river and pray alison krauss
Answer: O Brother, Where Art Thou?