FROM JERUSALEM TO JERICHO
(Rev W.M. Robertson)

From Jerusalem to Jericho along that lonely road
A certain man was set upon and robbed of all his gold
They beat him and they stripped him and they left him there for dead
Who was it then that came along and bathed the aching head?

Chorus:
Then who (then who), tell me who (tell me who)
Tell me who was this neighbour kind and true
From Jerusalem to Jericho we're travelling every day
And many are the fallen ones that lie along the way

From Jerusalem to Jericho a certain priest came by
He heard the poor man crying but he heeded not the cry
He gathered his robes about him and he quickly passed away
Who was it then that came along and ministered that day?
Chorus

From Jerusalem to Jericho a Levi came along
He heard the poor man crying that lie upon the ground
He lifted his hands up to the heavens and he quickly passed him by
Who was it then that came along and heeded that needy cry?
Chorus

From Jerusalem to Jericho when life was ebbing away
Along came that Samaritan who was despised they say
He ministered to the dying man, he carried him to an inn
He paid his fare and told the host to take good care of him

Chorus

From Jerusalem to Jericho we're travelling every day
And many are the fallen ones that lie along the way
Oh some despise and some reject it, but it is no matter how they've been
When everybody turns you down then Jesus takes you in

Chorus

Source: transcription from reissue on Uncle Dave Macon 'Travelin' Down the Road' County CCS-CD-115. Original recording made on 3 August 1937.

According to Charles Wolfe, this hymn was from the pen of Rev W.M. Robertson in 1891 and appeared in several early hymn books. Uncle Dave first recorded it in 1925. I cannot find the original at any of the gospel and sheet music sites and no mention of Rev Robertson either. Can anyone post the original for purposes of comparison? The Cyber Hymnal site mentions a hymn with the same title by a Frederick Arthur Graves (1856-1927), but gives no text. Is this related or a totally discrete piece? Uncle Dave made another non-commercial recording of the hymn, with his son Dorris backing him on guitar, some time during 1946 (issued on Rounder LP 1028). In that recording, Uncle Dave inverts the last line of the final stanza to: 'When everybody takes you down, then Jesus turns you in'. Whether that was deliberate or accidental, as Charles Wolfe has pointed out, it does make 'a certain amount of Uncle Dave sense'. In my trawls across the net for information about this hymn, I came across an interesting article on the parable in Luke's gospel on which the hymn was based:

Click here for parable article