The story behind recording “Go Tell It On The Mountain.”
In case you missed all the promotional efforts on Facebook and Twitter, I recently released my version of “Go Tell It On The Mountain” as a free download. Try one of the following links to get the song now.
The Recording
Many thanks go to Lynn Graber of The Recording House for offering to record this Christmas song for free as part of his Christmas 2011 compilation. Six other artists recorded songs with Lynn. I’ve embedded their tracks below for you to enjoy.
As for my recording, I had a lot of fun working with Lynn at his swanky studio. We experimented with new microphone placement and techniques while recording the upright piano. I also was able to track harmonica using an Alesis iO Dock with an iPad and the Ground Up Audio Amps & Cabs iOS app.
“Go Tell It On The Mountain” by Scott Troyer
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel” by Autumn Ashley
“Some Children See Him” by Nathan Metz
“Emmanuel” by Larisa Grisham
“What Child Is This?” by Vanessa Ann Grisham
“Oh Holy Night” by Escaping Yesterday
“Free (A Christmas Song)” by Troy Erbe
Lyric Changes
In 1907, John W. Work, Jr. published a collection called Folk Song of the American Negro, which contained the first publication of “Go Tell It On The Mountain.” For those listening closely to my version of the song, some of the lyrics have been modified from the original. I altered a few of the words and added a couple lines. Some may want to stone me for changing a classic, but I believe the changes to be improvements that are faithful to our best understanding of the gospel. Review the lyrics on the discography page to see if you can find the changes I made. Let me know what you think via the comments section below.
Go Tell It
This song may seem old-fashioned or out-of-date, but here’s the thing: there are places in the world where people have never heard that “Jesus Christ is born.” They may know the name Jesus Christ (possibly as it is used as a profanity in movies or TV), or they may have limited information (or even disinformation) about this Messiah guy. In spite of the nearly omnipresent accessibility of the internet and prevalence of computers, smart phones, and iDevices, there are still many people uninformed about the central character of the Christian faith. Often, governments prevent their people from receiving information about Christianity or persecute their citizens for spreading the information.
One of the most notorious of these regions of the world is North Korea. With the recent passing of dictator Kim Jong-Il, the North Korean government is likely to change its policies in regards to religious practice. Please read this article from Vernon Brewer, president of WorldHelp, to find out how you can “go tell it on the mountain.” Then donate via this link.
I met my maker. I made him cry.
And on my shoulder he asked me why
His people won’t fly through the storm.
I said: ‘Listen up man they don’t even know you’re born.’
– Oasis, “D’You Know What I Mean?,” Be Here Now
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Today brings another blog entry about an author friend of mine. Roger Bretherton released an interesting book called The GOD Lab: 8 Spiritual Experiments You Can Try at Home on Amazon UK through Integrity Media Europe. At the time of this blog being published, the book was #4 and climbing on Amazon.co.uk Books Bestsellers Inspirational [...]
Today brings another blog entry about an author friend of mine. Roger Bretherton released an interesting book called The GOD Lab: 8 Spiritual Experiments You Can Try at Home
on Amazon UK through Integrity Media Europe. At the time of this blog being published, the book was #4 and climbing on Amazon.co.uk Books Bestsellers Inspirational list. Congratulations, Roger!
In addition to being a published author, Roger is a clinical psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England.
If you’re like me and want to read The GOD Lab in eBook format, click here to request it on Kindle. The GOD Lab is now available on Kindle!
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My friend Nathan Metz wrote a book called Groans of the Prisoners. I worked a lot with Nathan last year. I produced his first solo album Play The Man. We had a great time making that huge record. If you haven’t picked it up yet, check it out. All proceeds from the sale of his [...]
My friend Nathan Metz wrote a book called Groans of the Prisoners.
I worked a lot with Nathan last year. I produced his first solo album Play The Man. We had a great time making that huge record. If you haven’t picked it up yet, check it out. All proceeds from the sale of his album benefit adoption efforts.
A while back, while we were still tracking Play The Man, Nathan told me he begun working on a book with his grandmother Alberta Metz. I thought that was really a cool idea, since I think it is nice to see people of different generations working together to create, learn from each other, pass on wisdom, and interact more closely. I’m looking forward to reading this book and just downloaded it this morning via the Kindle app for iOS. Groans of the Prisoners is currently available as a Kindle eBook
. The paperback version will be available on Amazon soon.
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A couple of days ago I finished reading Jonathan Weyer’s The Faithful, a Christian horror novel dealing with faith, science, doubt, murder, the Church and the supernatural. Fiction isn’t what I usually lean towards, but I really wanted to read this one for several reasons. Weyer is the brother-in-law of my good friend and talented [...]
A couple of days ago I finished reading Jonathan Weyer’s The Faithful, a Christian horror novel dealing with faith, science, doubt, murder, the Church and the supernatural. Fiction isn’t what I usually lean towards, but I really wanted to read this one for several reasons.
- Weyer is the brother-in-law of my good friend and talented illustrator Eric Wieringa.
- Weyer founded The Thomas Society, a discussion group at Ohio State University. The group focused on opening up honest dialog between Christians and atheists and their blog was often an interesting read for skeptics and believers alike.
- Apparently, The Faithful is now a screenplay and has been getting some attention from some film producers. Since I rarely pick up fiction novels and everyone always says, “…yeah, but the book was sooooo much better than the movie,” I rarely get to read the book before I see the movie. So here was my opportunity to read it before it hits the big screen.
- The Kindle edition is only $8.99. Since I’m a touring musician, paperless and more affordable e-books are super attractive to me. Plus delivery is immediate. My inner consumerist couldn’t be happier.
At just under 400 pages, The Faithful is an easy read (I finished it in just a few nights), especially on these dark Midwest winter nights. Though horror as a theme has become fairly common in Christian music (see: Underoath, Demon Hunter, As I Lay Dying, Norma Jean, or my friends Grave Robber), it is still a rarer breed in novel form. Genre classification aside, I think this book is a good contemporary fit for our times and it will appeal to most people. This may be why it could make a good film.
Conflicted with his faith in God and the hypocrisy of the church, Aidan, an assistant pastor, is already a spiritual battleground. When he learns that his ex-fiancee was murdered in a possibly demonic ritual, he finds himself catapulted into an even deeper fight. Tormented by demonic threats and haunted spirits in the afterlife, Aidan becomes a medium that will hold the key to solving this murder mystery. As Catholic priests, paranormal investigators and rogue law enforcement seek Aidan out, readers both secular and religious will find that the Faithful tears at the emotions and doubts of humankind.
— Amazon.com Editoral Review
Through protagonist Pastor Aidan Schaeffer, Weyer quotes scripture and references Dawkins, gives sermons and curses, and challenges both the faithful and faithless to continue exploring their doubts as they pursue the truth. His irreverent, but honest treatment of the Church may be upsetting to some sheltered and defensive churchgoers, but will be seen as welcome and necessary concessions of the American Church’s failures in the eyes of critics and skeptics. I think the book will resonate with well-read believers, those with paranormal interests, murder mystery enthusiasts, church insiders and even some skeptics.
Paperback on Amazon | Kindle Edition
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There has been some talk surrounding the latest book from Stephen Hawking called The Grand Design, because he and co-author Leonard Mlodinow believe that we can finally prove there is no need for a god to explain the origins of the universe. I borrowed the book from a friend and made my way through it [...]
There has been some talk surrounding the latest book from Stephen Hawking called The Grand Design, because he and co-author Leonard Mlodinow believe that we can finally prove there is no need for a god to explain the origins of the universe.
I borrowed the book from a friend and made my way through it in two nights. It was an easy read. The authors speak in clear layman’s terms defining and explaining essential scientific theories, laws, and models while giving a brief history of physics from Thales of Miletus (ca. 600 BC) to modern day.
I enjoyed reading this concise walk through of modern physics and feel I have a better grasp of the main tenets of the prevailing model for the theory of everything. Indeed, the answer given is not an easy 42, but the authors explain this network of theories that form M-theory in terms that are definitely more accessible to the common man than the research papers from which the theories have formed. As usual, I really liked hearing about the mystical and mysterious nature of quantum particles and how these challenging concepts have far-reaching implications upon the macro-sized world. The explanation of model-dependent realism is certainly a fun mental exercise exploring our concept of what we know as reality and how we can be sure of such things.
While I did enjoy the book, there were subtle problems that bothered me – biases towards certain presuppositions, unscientific leaps of faith, models lacking “good model” criteria, vital theories built upon other as-of-yet-unproven but widely accepted theories, and “well that’s close enough” solutions. These nagging bits give me doubt about the final conclusion being made. (Also, a recent article in The New Yorker raises some questions about how reliable our scientific method really is.)
Another troubling pattern is that the authors seem to be on a crusade to invalidate many fields of study and make science the supreme field over all others. On the first page of chapter one, the authors declare philosophy dead and throughout the rest of the book they continue their abasement of various fields including philosophy, psychology, and religion, as well as belittling numerous respected historical figures, cultures, and heritages from around the world. In general, the book has lingering odors of Richard Feynman fanboyism and scientific elitism.
[SPOILER ALERT] When reading a book titled The Grand Design, one would expect a fantastic finale, but the underwhelming final chapter (a mere 12 pages) concludes that because gravity exists the universe naturally and spontaneously created itself.
Seriously? I felt let down. I was hoping for something far more grand. At least, I was expecting something scientifically elegant, something that met the criteria for a good model, something that didn’t leave some large doors of logic standing wide open. Instead, this grand crescendo ended with the wave of the magician’s wand and a sputter, not a bang. I was reminded of one of my favorite books from my childhood, The Monster At The End Of This Book. I don’t want to spoil that story for you, so you’ll have to read this classic children’s book for yourself.
Jon Stone – Random House Books for Young Readers 2000
UPDATE: The Monster At The End Of This Book has been made into an iPad app. Get it now while it’s only $0.99 USD.
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The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Dr. Francis Collins should be a prerequisite read for anyone wanting to discuss religion and science. Collins systematically addresses many of the arguments often presented by the binarily-opposed camps of atheism and theism. In rational, but earnest, straight-forward speak, Collins discusses how he traveled [...]
The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Dr. Francis Collins should be a prerequisite read for anyone wanting to discuss religion and science.
Collins systematically addresses many of the arguments often presented by the binarily-opposed camps of atheism and theism. In rational, but earnest, straight-forward speak, Collins discusses how he traveled a path through ambivalence, agnosticism, and atheism to arrive at a belief system he describes as theistic evolution and labels BioLogos.
Through his experience as the head of the Human Genome Project he describes how he sees science and religion as partners instead of enemies. He shows how a synergistic relationship between science and theology is possible and can lead us to understand who we are, where we came from, and where we could potentially go in the future.
Collins now serves as the Director of the National Institutes of Health and in January of 2010 published another book called The Language of Life.
The Language of God Links
More books by Dr. Francis Collins
UPDATE: After posting this, a friend wrote to me the following message via Facebook:
Hey Scott,
I’d really appreciate your take on this. It’s something I’ve struggled to reconcile with my own faith. Since I’ve only been saved for 7 years I’m still learning about a lot of things.
Thanks,
[Name Withheld]
This is what I wrote in reply:
Hi [Name Withheld],
Good to hear from you. If you’re going to struggle with a topic, this is definitely a good one. You’ll be glad to know that regardless of knowledge and experience nearly everyone has and still does struggle with these concepts. It’s been called “the human condition,” so don’t feel like you’re alone in it. 
The debate has raged on since time began. I think if there was a definitive answer we wouldn’t still be arguing about it. Considering the fact that the finer points and deepest understanding of both science and religion are far beyond the intelligence of most of us, there is good reason for us to feel inadequate in our ability to really know the answer. At best we’re all operating on faith in something, be it reason, religion, or a mix of both.
As for me… I consider myself merely a layman in both fields, but a curious, eager, hopeful, and self-educating layman. I read a lot and try to understand as much of it as I can. For any matter in either field I rely on the “experts” for the best information, which I then must parse for myself. I do my best to avoid the trolling, antagonism, and rhetoric that do nothing to help progress, take into account the biases, presuppositions, and worldviews that form and shift the information, and look for the positive aspects, rational thought processes, and those ideas/concepts that have the “ring of truth” to them. This is probably the best any of us can do.
That said, I respect what Dr. Francis Collins has to say. He’s a very bright scientist that led the team that mapped the human genome. He’s a skeptic that wrestled with all the questions we do and yet still became a believer. He seems like a respectable human being that is neither pandering nor aloof. In short, I like him (or what I know of him). He seems like the kind of guy that I would like to be: an intelligent mystic – someone who educates himself as best he can, but has not reduced all of life to an equation.
And so I listen to him.
We tend to seek out the people that think similarly. Maybe this is the case here, but I suppose that just exposes my biases and the mixed bag of diametrically opposed concepts I enjoy and find myself holding onto. Things like rationality and spirituality, science and poetry, evidence and blind faith, deep wisdom and child-like belief. And that mix of things doesn’t seem all that bad to me. It seems like a healthy way to live.
Towards the end of the book, Collins tells how both religious believers and scientific skeptics have issues with him and his beliefs. That’s no surprise. To believe as he does (which, I think I do), means that I will most likely find myself at odds with nearly everyone since humans like to polarize themselves into mutually exclusive groups (e.g. Democrats vs. Republicans). Middle ground people (like myself) are a threat to both sides. I like to think that I’m dangerous, but the good kind of dangerous – like Jesus. 
Years ago I was told that evolution was heresy and a threat to my faith. Various religious people/groups instructed me to fight against the huge lie and conspiracy of evolution. They said if we allowed this “theory” to prevail, then our faith would be lost. We would be reduced to monkeys, heaven would dissolve, and God would no longer exist.
At times evolution did threaten my faith, but only because of how the issue was framed for me. Somewhere deep down I knew that there was good science behind evolution, but that my faith was also true. I had heard stories and experienced things that could not be accounted for. So even then (some 20 years ago) I suspected what this book now proposes. It feels like confirmation of the worldview that’s been hanging around inside of me.
The more I live, read, discover, and understand, the more I feel I have good reason to be grounded in my beliefs, but usually not for the original reasons. I go through periods of doubt and renewal as I learn new things, let go of old things, and find the true things. This book walks along that same path. It has that “ring of truth” to it that I’ve been looking for.
In the coming weeks I hope to be blogging more about faith and science. I have a bunch of ideas bouncing around in my thick old head. I suppose I’m wise enough to have some good thoughts, but foolish enough to actually say them. Maybe you’ll find my thoughts enjoyable and possibly even helpful. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
All the best,
Scott
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