Little Big Town – “Go Tell It On The Mountain”

Don’t let the acoustic opening of Little Big Town’s “Go Tell It On the Mountain” fool you. The quartet, known for harmonizing the hell out of its songs, sings a rocking example of what a Christmas hymn is meant to be: Joyous, inspirational and infectious.

If all hymns were sung like this, there would be a lot less people snoozing in the back row of church.

“Go Tell It On the Mountain” is a good fit for a group that best connects with audiences through pastoral, rootsy songs like “Boondocks.” After all, the Nativity scene was set up in a barn.

The song, which began as an African-American spiritual and was used as a Civil Rights Movement protest anthem, also works well as a Christmas song that celebrates the season with a simple, direct message and call-to-action chorus: “Go tell it on the mountain/Over the hills and everywhere/Go tell it on the mountain/That Jesus Christ is born.”

A long list of country crooners—including Toby Keith, Brenda Lee, Sara Evans and Dolly Parton—has sampled the song, with results ranging from sweet and folksy to rocking and bluesy.

This version, which debuted in 2006 as a downloadable single and made it to #35 on the Billboard charts, falls into the latter category, supported instrumentally by a jamming electric guitar and vocally by Karen Fairchild’s gospel fervor.

Although Little Big Town is best known for its mash-up of four-part harmonies, it is most memorable when one lead singer takes charge of the group: think Jimi Westbrook on “A Little More You” and Phillip Sweet on “Bring It On Home.” Fairchild does that here, belting “Go Tell It On the Mountain” with enough power to almost literally be heard over the hills and everywhere.

Classic Christmas tunes like this one survive for centuries and withstand multiple adaptations for a reason, thanks mostly to the way they evoke personal memories from holiday seasons past.

Those same songs, however, can also grow staid and stiff, but Little Big Town manages to make “Go Tell It On the Mountain” sound both classic and fresh.