James Milton Black's popular hymn "When The Roll is Called Up Yonder" became a go-to gospel song over the years for Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, Andy Griffith Show star Jim Nabors and others.
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Even with those heavy-hitters reading off the same page of the hymnal, Black's belief in a Heavenly roll call from the Book of Life never sounded more at home in country music than it did in the above footage of Loretta Lynn, brothers show hosts Teddy and Doyle Wilburn and three of the Willis Brothers.
Southern gospel harmonies plus accordion accompaniment equal the old-time camp meeting feel that used to get replicated regularly on country stars' variety TV shows.
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Black, a Pennsylvania-based choir director, hymn writer and Sunday School teacher, wrote the song's lyrics in 1893. They first appeared in Black's 1894 songbook Songs of the Soul.
Black's words and the hymn's traditional tune are now public domain.
"When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" Lyrics (by James M. Black)
When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more
And the morning breaks eternal bright and fair
When the saved diverse shall gather over on the other shore
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there
When the roll is called up yonder
When the roll is called up yonder
When the roll is called up yonder
When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there
On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of his resurrection share;
When his chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
When the roll is called up yonder
When the roll is called up yonder
When the roll is called up yonder
When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there
Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun;
Let us talk of all his wondrous love and care.
Then when all of life is over and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
When the roll is called up yonder
When the roll is called up yonder
When the roll is called up yonder
When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there
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https://rumble.com/embed/u7gve.v3xjnx/
