"Go Rest High on That Mountain"
"Maybe Tonight"
August 28, 1995
1994
5:15 (Album version)
4:27 (Radio edit)
Vince Gill
Content[edit]
"Go Rest High on That Mountain" is a tribute to Vince Gill's step brother who has died recently before the song was composed.[1] It is composed in the key of D major with a slow tempo, largely following the chord pattern D-G-D-A-D.[2]
Gill added a third verse in December 2019 saying “Yeah, it doesn’t make much sense, does it?” he told People. “Yeah, ‘Leave it alone, you idiot!’ That should be my mantra. But in my heart, I think this makes it better.”[3]
Critical reception[edit]
Deborah Evans Price of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably calling the song "beautiful, majestic, and easily one of the best singles of Gill's already distinguished career." She goes on to say that the composition "boasts a touching spiritual lyric and Gill's consistently impeccable vocal delivery."[4] In 2019, Rolling Stone ranked "Go Rest High on That Mountain" No. 17 on its list of the 40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time.[5]
The song won the CMA's Song of the Year award in 1996[6] and a BMI Most-Performed Song award in 1997.[7] It also received two Grammy Awards for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song in the 38th Grammy Awards.[8] The single reached No. 14 on the Country Singles chart in 1995.[9] It has sold 857,000 digital copies in the US since becoming available for download.[10]
Music video[edit]
The music video was directed by John Lloyd Miller and premiered in mid-1995. Filmed at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, it features Gill performing the song (accompanied by Loveless and Skaggs on the choruses) while images of nature such as mountains, forests, and sunrises play on screens behind him.
George Jones eulogy[edit]
On May 2, 2013, Gill performed the song with Loveless at the funeral of fellow country artist George Jones. At one point during the performance, Gill became too emotional to sing some of the words, but was able to complete the song by focusing primarily on his guitar playing, with Loveless stepping up to complete the back-up vocals and harmony. In a speech just prior to Gill's and Loveless' performance, Gill underlined their duet by stating that he always was aware of a "special anointing" in his duets with Loveless, and compared them particularly to Jones' duets with singer Melba Montgomery during the 1960s.[11]
Compiled from the liner notes.[12]