Down in the Valley to Pray

“Down in the Valley to Pray” (also known as “Down to the River 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 Southern gospel song. The exact origin of the song is unknown.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. Doc Watson, the famous blind folk snger first sany the songher learned from his grandmother as “Valley”.  Jubilee Singers sang it as “Valley” yet at other times Black Gosplel groups sand it as “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 the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?).  Another reason is that many songs sung by victims of slavery contained coded messages for escaping. When the enslaved people 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.”