"
Go Down Moses" is an American
Negro spiritual. It describes events in the
Old Testament of the
Bible, specifically [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+8:1&version=KJV Exodus 8:1]: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me", in which God commands
Moses to demand the release of the
Israelites from bondage in
Egypt. The opening verse as published by the Jubilee Singers in 1872:
<poem> When Israel was in Egypt's land: Let my people go, Oppress'd so hard they could not stand, Let my People go. Refrain: Go down, Moses, Way down in Egypt's land, Tell old Pharaoh, Let my people go. </poem>