"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 Cappella
2003 – 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 song
1995 – Odds, "Leave It There" on the album Good Weird Feeling
1997 – F. C. Barnes, "Take Your Burden (to Jesus)" on the albums Keep Me All the Way and A Live Reunion; a different gospel song
2002 – 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 it
2003 – 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
