Bill D. Our college choir sang this song in concerts and the line you quote is the one we used (While Shepards, etc.) I think the musis was from the St. Olaf Choir series, and may been arranged by Rolf Christiansen.

Anmateria: I'll bet you're right about the teacher. What a shame. Here a great old Spiritual is re-written in order to be PC.

When I was at University, our choir sang "Alexander Nevesky" with the Dallas Symphony. Word got out to some of the service clubs in the Dallas area that we were going to be performing a Communist song. We were required (the Dallas Symphony was I guess) lyrics so that references to Russia were deleted. This was in the early 1950's and the Communist scare was at the forefront at that time. I can't remember all of the changed lyrics but here are some I do remember: "In a great campaign, Russia went to war." That was changed to, "In a great campaign we all went to war." Refrences to our "native Russian land" were changed to our "native motherland." Crazy.

Sorry for the creep.

DougR