Doc played guitar in both flatpicking and fingerpicking style, but was best known for his flatpick work. His virtuosity combined with his authenticity as a mountain musician made him a highly influential figure during the folk music revival. He pioneered the fast and flashy bluegrass lead guitar style which has been adopted and extended by others such as Clarence White and Tony Rice. He was also an accomplished banjo player and in the past had accompanied himself on harmonica as well.
In 1986 he received the North Carolina Award and in 2000 he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. In 1997, Doc received the National Medal of the Arts from President Clinton.
He was generally joined on stage by his grandson and Merle's son Richard as well as his musical partner of twenty years, Jack Lawrence.
He was host to the annual MerleFest music festival held every April at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The festival features a vast array of acoustic style music focusing on the folk, bluegrass, blues and old time music genres. It's named in honor of Merle Watson and is one of the most popular acoustic music festivals in the world, drawing over 85,000 music fans each year.
In late May 2012, Watson was listed in critical condition but was responsive at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after undergoing colon surgery. Watson had fallen early in the week. Watson did not break any bones, but an underlying condition prompted the surgery. Watson died on May 29, 2012 at the medical center at the age of 89.
Down In the Valley To Pray
Doc Watson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Studyin' about that good old way
And who shall wear the stary crown
Good Lord, show me the way
Oh fathers let's go down
Let's go down come on down
Oh fathers let's go down
Down in the valley to pray
As I went down in the valley to pray
Studyin' about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way
Oh mothers let's go down
Come on down don't you wanna go down
Come on mothers and let's go down
Down in the valley to pray
As I went down in the valley to pray
Studyin' about that good old way
And who shall wear the stary crown
Good Lord, show me the way
Oh brothers let's go down
Let's go down come on down
Come on brothers and let's go down
Down in the valley to pray
As I went down in the valley to pray
Studyin' about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way
Come on sinners and let's go down
Let's go down oh, come on down
Come on sinners and let's go down
Down in the valley to pray
As I went down in the valley to pray
Studyin' about that good old way
And who shall wear the stary crown
Good Lord, show me the way
The song "Down in the Valley to Pray" is a traditional American spiritual that is both upbeat and devotional. The song is a call to prayer for people of all walks of life, urging them to humble themselves and ask the Lord for guidance. The singer begins by going down into a valley to pray and study about the "good old way," asking the Lord to show them who will wear the "stary crown" or the "robe and crown." The singer then calls out to fathers, mothers, and brothers to come down to the valley to pray, and finally invites sinners to join them as well.
Line by Line Meaning
As I went down in the valley to pray
I took a trip down to the valley to pray.
Studyin' about that good old way
I was thinking about the traditional way of praying.
And who shall wear the starry crown?
I was wondering who would be honored with the starry crown of heaven.
Good Lord, show me the way
I prayed to the Lord to guide me in the right direction.
Oh fathers let's go down
I called out to the fathers to join me in prayer.
Let's go down come on down
Let's not waste any more time, let's start praying together.
Oh mothers let's go down
I called out to the mothers to join us in prayer.
Come on down don't you wanna go down
Let's all go down together to pray, don't you want to join us?
Oh brothers let's go down
I called out to the brothers to join in prayer.
Come on brothers and let's go down
Let's go down to pray together, my fellow brothers.
Come on sinners and let's go down
I invited the sinners to join us in prayer, no matter what their past may be.
Let's go down oh, come on down
Let's start praying together, don't be shy.
Down in the valley to pray
We are all going down to the valley to pray together.
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: DOC WATSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PhilosophicalTKD
+Antlers68 Thank you for your comment. I didn't intend to start a debate so, I'm sorry if you feel your beliefs are being attacked. I do wish to address some of the things you have said, however.
Firstly, ethics is the very stuff of morality. An ethical theory outlines what is right and what is wrong, what is moral and what is immoral. So, no, it was not ethical for Nazis to kill Jews, although they might have claimed it to be so.
Secondly, yes, I can as a non-believer appreciate the sentiments of a religious song without accepting the whole of the religious principles it derives itself from, I can share beliefs about loving your fellow human-being without sharing the principles that ground that belief.
Lastly, I'm sure you don't actually believe that a subjective experience is evidence for something for two reasons: 1) If I have a chemical imbalance in my brain that causes me to hallucinate that I won an award, when I return to a "normal" state that doesn't lend itself as evidence that I actually won an award. Or 2) That if someone's subjective experience is evidence for something, then there is evidence for every religion that exists and therefore it is unreasonable to claim any one religion as true or plainly correct.
To conclude, sir or madam, I do not agree with your religious beliefs and its principles, but we can share common ground about the conclusions that are reached, and this song happens to do that and that is what I was pointing out with my original comment. :)
@valeriamendoza3058
As I went down in the valley to pray
Studyin' about that good old way
And who shall wear the stary crown
Good Lord, show me the way
Oh fathers let's go down
Let's go down come on down
Oh fathers let's go down
Down in the valley to pray
As I went down in the valley to pray
Studyin' about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way
Oh mothers let's go down
Come on down don't you wanna go down
Come on mothers and let's go down
Down in the valley to pray
As I went down in the valley to pray
Studyin' about that good old way
And who shall wear the stary crown
Good Lord, show me the way
Oh brothers let's go down
Let's go down come on down
Come on brothers and let's go down
Down in the valley to pray
As I went down in the valley to pray
Studyin' about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way
Come on sinners and let's go down
Let's go down oh, come on down
Come on sinners and let's go down
Down in the valley to pray
As I went down in the valley to pray
Studyin' about that good old way
And who shall wear the stary crown
Good Lord, show me the way
@SanityClause
Absolutely love this song. The world is a sadder place without Doc Watson.
@Antlers68
+hobokitteh1 -I'm so grateful for the times (far too few) that I saw this great Christian man in concert.
@carolinewoodman7987
Beautiful song using God’s gifts to praise him
@stevebruner4469
I have listened to Doc since I was 14 years old, I am 54 now and his music is the best music now and then, Doc is with the Lord now and singing with the angels in heaven !
@MrKenaria
It's interesting to see how the style of this song progresses through it's oldest to newest recordings. Doc's version is one of the first recorded versions to include a "bluegrass style." It's incredibly interesting to look at the history of the song.
@kjb1611tw
Its a heavenly blessing, greetings from taiwan 🙌
@dondondoodle
Doc is a national treasure. I have met him a few times and he's just a dang good man, a mans man, and a man of the lord. I love Doc!
@MrGeordie99
Thank you Doc for blessing us with some of the most beautiful music ever played on Earth!
@donniehodge2548
Great Song Great Singer 👍
@rolanddoucet458
Doc was a fantastic guitar player, obviously. But, the world is loaded with great guitar players. Tony Rice, Brian Dutton, and literally thousands of others.
But nobody in the history of the planet has put together a recorded legacy like Doc. About 60 albums of very high quality singing, playing, arrangements, production... The best.
That is really the lasting legacy of that man—all those amazing recordings.