"Leave It There" is a Christian hymn composed in 1916 by African-American Methodist minister Charles A. Tindley. It has become popular enough to have been included in 12 hymnals; and even to be attributed to "traditional" or "anonymous". The title is sometimes given as "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" or as "Take Your Burden to the Lord" or as "Take Your Burden", words taken from the song's refrain; the plurals "burdens" and "them" are sometimes used, and "God" instead of "the Lord":
The song relates to Psalm 55:22:
Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
and to Christ's words in the Gospel of Matthew at 11:28-30:
It also relates to the Gospel of Matthew at 6:26:
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
On December 2, 1927, the song was recorded in gospel blues style by Washington Phillips (vocals and zither). According to the book Country Music Records : A Discography, 1921-1942: A Discography, 1921-1942, on December 13, 1927, it was recorded by Frank and James McCravy. On June 30, 1928, it was recorded in gospel style by the Pace Jubilee Singers (chorus, singing in close harmony) with Hattie Parker (vocal soloist) and piano accompaniment. On December 11, 1929, it was recorded in gospel blues style by Blind Willie Johnson (vocals (using his "growl" (false bass) voice throughout) and guitar) and Willie B. Harris (vocals), who is thought to have been his first wife. Despite their closeness in time both to each other and to the date of composition, those three early versions are stylistically very different.
The song has since been recorded many times in a wide variety of styles; mostly gospel-based, but a few blues- or country-based. Some recordings misattribute authorship to Johnson or to Phillips instead of to Tindley; some artists have even claimed that it was their own composition.
1923–1936 – Snowball and Sunshine, "Leave It There" included on the 2012 compilation album Work Hard, Play Hard, Pray Hard: Hard Time, Good Time & End Time Music 1923–1936 1927 – Washington Phillips, "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" 10" 78rpm single Columbia 14277-D 1928 – Pace Jubilee Singers with Hattie Parker, "Leave It There" 10" 78rpm single Victor 21551-B 1929 – Blind Willie Johnson, "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" 10" 78rpm single Columbia 14520-D 1929–34 – Blind Joe Taggart, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" 1929–36 – Blind Roosevelt Graves and Uaroy Graves, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" 1938–39 – Golden Gate Quartet, "Take Your Burden(s) to God" 1938–39 – Shelby Gospel Four, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" 1951 – Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Gospel Harmonettes, "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" first released in 1994 on the album Women of Gospel's Golden Age, Vol. 1 1951 – Famous Ward Singers, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" Savoy Records 4033 1952–53 – Tommy Duncan, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" 1962 – James Cleveland and the Angelic Choir, "Leave It There" Savoy Records 4188 1963 – Eureka Brass Band, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album Jazz at Preservation Hall, Vol. 1 1964 – Kid Thomas Valentine, Emanuel Paul and Kid Sheik, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album The Three Kings 1965 – Joseph Spence, "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" 1966 – The Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister, "Leave It There" on the album The Happy Sound of the Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister 1967 – The Incredible String Band, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" first released in 2006 on the album The Circle Is Unbroken: Live and Studio 1967–1972 1967 – Warner Mack, "Leave It There" on the album Songs We Sang in Church and Home 1970 – Dock Boggs, "Leave It There" on the album Dock Boggs, Volume 3 1972 – Jeffrey Shurtleff, "Leave It There" on the album State Farm 1973 – Blind Arvella Gray, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album The Singing Drifter 1973 – Sensational Nightingales, "Take Your Burdens to the Lord" on the album You and I and Everyone 1975 – Percy Humphrey and His Crescent City Joymakers, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album Climax Rag 1976 – William Truckaway, "Leave It There" on the album Breakaway 1992 – Al Hobbs and the Indy Mass Choir, "Leave It There" on the album All Is Well 1993 – Tanya Goodman, "Leave It There" on the album Innocent Eyes 1994 – Rev. W. Leo Daniels with Mrs. Nevarro Daniels, "Leave It There" on the album So Happy 1995 – Blind Connie Williams, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album Philadelphia Street Singer 1995 – The Fairfield Four, "Leave It There" on the album Standing on the Rock 1995 – Georgia Mass Choir, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album Lord Take Me Through 1995 – Jimmy Hill and The Anointed Voices of Power, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album Stop the Violence 1995 – The Horizon Family, "Leave It There" on the album Singing at the National Quartet Convention 1996 – Bill and Gloria Gaither, "Leave It There" on the album Moments to Remember 1996 – The Gospel Midgets, "Leave It There" on the album Whatcha Gonna Do 1996 – Rev. Oris Mays, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album The Milky White Way 1997 – William Abney, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album Songs of Grace 1998 – Clarence Clay and William Scott, "Take Your Burdens to the Lord" on the album Standing on the Highway 1998 – Dwight Gordon, "Take Your Burden" on the album I've Been Waiting 1998 – Rev. Raymond Wise and Family, "Leave It There" on the album Family: Singing Familiar Songs and Sayings 1999 – Willie Eason with The Campbell Brothers, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album Sacred Steel – Live! 2000 – Soulful Heavenly Stars of New Orleans, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album Who We Are 2000 – Sensational Southern Nightingales featuring Sidney Brown, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album God's Given Touch 2001 – -N-Retro, "Leave It There" on the album Easy Listening Gospel 2001 – Shirley Sydnour and Erik Trauner, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album I'll Fly Away 2002 – Body of Baptized Believers, "Leave It There" on the album No Question 2002 – Ehmandah, "Leave It There" on the album Spiritually Gifted: Speaking from the Soul 2002 – Randall Goodgame, "Leave It There" on the album The Hymnal 2002 – Rev. Phillip E. Knight, Sr., "Leave It There" on the album Save a Seat for Me 2003 – Gaither Vocal Band, "Leave It There" on the album A Cappella2003 – Lynda Randle, "Leave It There" on the album Timeless 2004 – Jay Jay Bell and Friends, "Leave It There on the album Lord Send Me, I'll Go 2004 – Ray Skjelbred, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album Plays Blues & Boogie Woogie 2005 – The Grace Thrillers, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the albums He Brought Me Out and Old Favourites 2006 – The Baker Girls, "Leave It There" on the album Don't Let the Makeup Fool You 2006 – John Cowan and Tony Rice, "Leave It There" on the album Voice of the Spirit, Gospel of the South 2006 – Jessy Dixon, "Leave It There" on the album Homecoming Classics 2007 – 2nd Chance, "Leave It There" on the album Heavenly Highway (The Highway to Heaven) 2007 – A. Bruce Frazier, "Leave It There" on the album That Old Time Religion: Now and Then 2007 – Barry Martyn, "Leave It There" on the album Jazz Hymn Fest 2007 – Dudley Smith, "Leave It There" on the album Dudley Smith ... Is Havin' Church! 2007 – Wings of Heaven, "Leave It There" on the album Upper Room Experience 2008 – Bill Gaither, "Leave It There" on the DVD A Campfire Homecoming 2008 – Kevin Gould, "Leave It There" on the album A Wineskin in the Smoke 2009 – Lance Odegard, "Leave It There" on the album After a Long Hard Winter, It's Good to Go Home 2010 – Otis Byrd, Jr and Adoration on the album The Experience 2010 – Garden State Choral Chapter, "Leave It There" on the album Reunion 2010 – Greg Lowery, "Leave It There" on the album ' 2010 – Stan Whitmire, "Leave It There" on the album Shelter in the Storm 2012 – Mississippi Chris Sharp, "Take Your Burden To the Lord and Leave It There" on the album Redbugs 2013 – The Blind Boys of Alabama, "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There" on the album I'll Find a Way 2013 – Joey + Rory, "Leave It There" on the album Inspired: Songs of Faith & Family 2013 – Stuart MacDonald, "Leave It There" on the album Leave It There 2013 – Pig Irön, "Take Your Burden to the Lord" on the album Sermons From the Church of Blues Restitution 2014 – Sue Dodge, Lillie Knauls, Barbie Mason, The Stamps and J. D. Sumner, "Leave It There" on the album Bill Gaither's 30 Favorite Homecoming Hymns. (This version must have been recorded before Sumner's death in 1998.)2015 – DeBusk-Weaver Family, "Leave It There" on the album Ola Belle Reed and Southern Mountain Music on the Mason-Dixon Line 2015 – Girish, "Leave It There" on the album Sky of the Heart These songs have related titles to the Tindley song, but differ from it and from each other:
1965 – Pilgrim Jubilee Singers, "Take Your Burden to Jesus"; a different gospel song, perhaps based on the Tindley song1995 – Odds, "Leave It There" on the album Good Weird Feeling1997 – F. C. Barnes, "Take Your Burden (to Jesus)" on the albums Keep Me All the Way and A Live Reunion; a different gospel song2002 – Juanita Wynn, "Leave It There" on the album U Don't Know; a different gospel song. It quotes the second line of the refrain of the Tindley song, and may have been inspired by it2003 – Laura Frawley, "Leave It There" on the album Come Up Higher; a different gospel song. It has some similarities of wording to the Tindley song, and may have been inspired by it