“When the Roll is Called Up Yonder:” A 1890s Gospel Hymn by Alan Jackson

“When the Roll is Called Up Yonder”

“When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” is a gospel hymn written and sung by James Black. It was inspired by the idea of the Book of Life, and the absence of a child in his Sunday school class. However, the book of life is the book of God in which the names of every person who are destined either in Heaven or the World to Come while talking about the Child’s Sunday school class is listed. It is an educational institution usually attended by Christians. Nowadays, they are known by religious education or other Sunday services.

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

The child being talked about in this song has pneumonia and has to go to his doctor. After visiting his doctor, he went home and wrote a song to be added to his gospel collection. After finishing the song, it was published and was named as Songs of the Soul. It was also translated into 14 languages and was sung in churches or Sunday services.

“When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” was recorded by well-known country artists such as Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson.

Alan Jackson’s Version

Alan Jackson‘s version of the song was released on March 2013 from his album, Precious Memories Volume II. Upon the release of the song, it received positive feedback from the music critics and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart. The song also peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Here’s Alan Jackson’s Song “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder”: