| "The Gospel Train (Get on Board)" | |
|---|---|
 The Jubilee Singers (1873)[1] | |
| Song by Fisk Jubilee Singers (earliest attested) | |
| Published | 1872 |
| Genre | Negro spiritual |
| Songwriter(s) | Unknown |
"The Gospel Train (Get on Board)" is a traditional African-American spiritual first published in 1872 as one of the songs of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.[2] A standard Gospel song, it is found in the hymnals of many Protestant denominations and has been recorded by numerous artists.
The first verse, including the chorus is as follows:
The gospel train is coming
I hear it just at hand
I hear the car wheels moving
And rumbling thro' the land
Get on board, children (3×)
For there's room for many a more
Although "The Gospel Train" is usually cited as traditional, several sources credit a Baptist minister from New Hampshire, John Chamberlain, with writing it.[3] Captain Asa W. Bartlett, historian for the New Hampshire Twelfth Regiment, reported Chamberlain as singing the song on April 26, 1863, during Sunday services for the regiment.[4]
- ^ Pike, The Jubilee Singers, p. 190.
- ^ Pike, The Jubilee Singers, p. 190.
- ^ Carter, The Native Ministry of New Hampshire, p. 461: "John Chamberlain, ... Author of the railroad hymn, "Gospel Train."
- ^ Bartlett, History of the Twelfth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, p. 63: "Sunday, April 26, the members of the Twelfth present had the pleasure of listening to an eloquent discourse by Elder John Chamberlain, from New Hampshire, his text being the first verse of the eighteenth chapter of Matthew. He had a voice of remarkable clearness and power, and was gifted as a singer as well as an orator. He was the author of the celebrated 'Railroad Hymn,' which he sang on the occasion with fine effect."