Go with Me to That Land

"Go with Me to That Land"
Single by Blind Willie Johnson
B-side	Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right
Released	1930
Format	10" 78 rpm
Recorded	April 20, 1930 in Atlanta, GA
Genre	Gospel blues
Length	3:07
Label	Columbia 14597-D
Blind Willie Johnson singles chronology
"The Soul of a Man" / "Church, I'm Fully Saved To-Day" "Go with Me to That Land" / "Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right" "Sweeter as the Years Roll By" / "Take Your Stand"

"Go with Me to That Land" or "Come and Go with Me (to That Land)" is a traditional gospel blues song recorded on April 20, 1930 by Blind Willie Johnson with backing vocals by Willie B. Harris, who may have been his first wife. It was released as a single on Columbia 14597-D, backed with "Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right".^[1]

Lyrics

The lyrics express a Christian believer's expectation of a better life after this mortal one. The chorus, in call-and-response format, runs:

Come and go with me to that land, (x3)
Where I'm bound.

Recordings

The following recordings are by people with Wikipedia articles:

• 1930 – Blind Willie Johnson ^[2][3]
• 1960 – "Come and Go with Me to That Land" by Hally Wood on the album Hootenanny at Carnegie Hall ^[4]
• 1965 – "Come and Go with Me" by Peter, Paul and Mary on the album A Song Will Rise ^[5]
• 1972 – "Come and Go with Me to That Land" by Bernice Johnson Reagon on the album River of Life/Harmony: One ^[6]
• 1984 – "Come and Go with Me to That Land" by Rune Larsen on the album Flammen ^[7][8]
• 1999 – "Come and Go with Me to That Land" by Jesse L. Martin in an episode of the TV series The X-Files called "The Unnatural"
• 2013 – "Freedom Suite: Oh Freedom/Come and Go with Me to That Land/I'm on My Way to Freedom Land/Glory, Glory Hallelujah" by Sweet Honey in the Rock on the album A Tribute: Live! Jazz at Lincoln Center ^[9]

References

1. "Blind Willie Johnson discography". Retrieved February 4, 2015.
2. Blind Willie Johnson: Go With Me To That Land at AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
3. Blind Willie Johnson: Go to Me with That Land at AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2015. [sic]
4. "Come and Go with Me to That Land". Smithsonian Folkways. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
5. Peter, Paul and Mary: A Song Will Rise at AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
6. Bernice Johnson Reagon – Folk Songs: The South at AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
7. Rune Larsen: Flammen at AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
8. "Flammen (1984)". Retrieved February 4, 2015.
9. Sweet Honey in the Rock: A Tribute: Live! Jazz at Lincoln Center at AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2015.