Ellen Gilson Voth

Going Across the Mountain

This arrangement contrasts the unbridled optimism and resolve of a person heading off to war with the bittersweet nostalgia of leaving a special person behind, along with the promise of return. The repeated statements of the refrain are most effective when singers highlight the syncopations and rhythmic differences among them. Tenors should sing the final statement of 'Goin' across the mountain' (m. 39) with a more wistful quality than at the start. All singers should enjoy the harmonic movement of the last line, and their carefully timed roles in it