The earliest known version of the song, titled "The Good Old Way," was published in
Slave Songs of the United States in 1867. The song (#104) was contributed to that book by George H. Allan of Nashville, Tennessee, who may also have been the transcriber. The lyrics printed in this collection are: 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. This version also refers to a valley rather than a river; the first verse is: 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?). 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."
Mistaken attributions Some sources mistakenly claim that the song was published in
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion in 1835, several decades before the effort to gather and publish Black spirituals gained momentum in the
Reconstruction Era. There is in fact a song called "The Good Old Way" in
The Southern Harmony (also found in the
Sacred Harp); that song, however, has completely different melody and lyrics (which likewise should not be confused with a
Manx hymn tune of the same name and text, made famous by
the Watersons). Its lyrics begin as follows: ==Notable recordings==