Mahalia Jackson (October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospe… Read Full Bio ↴Mahalia Jackson (October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel". Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist. She was described by entertainer Harry Belafonte as "the single most powerful black woman in the United States". She recorded about 30 albums (mostly for Columbia Records) during her career, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen "golds"—million-sellers.
"I sing God's music because it makes me feel free," Jackson once said about her choice of gospel, adding, "It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues."

Jackson grew up in the "Black Pearl" section of the Carrollton neighbourhood of uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, and began singing in a Baptist church. In 1927 she moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she sang with The Johnson Brothers, one of the earliest professional gospel groups.

The Johnson Brothers broke up in the mid-1930s, and Jackson began her solo career, recording for Decca in 1937. The result, "God's Gonna Separate the Wheat from the Tares", was only a moderate success, but Jackson became a popular concert draw. She didn't record again untill 1946, when she signed with Apollo Records, releasing several singles that are now highly regarded, though sales were sluggish at the time. "Move On up a Little Higher" (1948) became a huge success, however, and stores could not stock enough of it to meet demand. Jackson rocketed to fame in the U.S. and soon afterwards in Europe. "I Can Put My Trust in Jesus" won a prize from the French Academy, and "Silent Night" was one of the best-selling singles in the history of Norway. She began a radio series on CBS and signed to Columbia Records in 1954. With her mainstream success came an inevitable backlash from gospel purists who felt she had watered down her sound for popular accessibility.

Jackson's career in the late 1950s and early 1960s continued to rise when she recorded with Percy Faith, and performed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival and the inauguration of John F. Kennedy. She also sang at the funeral of her friend Martin Luther King, Jr. The late 1960s saw a downturn in her popular success. She ended her career with a concert in Germany in 1971; when she returned, she made one of her final television appearances on The Flip Wilson Show.

Jackson died in Chicago on 27th January 1972 of heart failure and diabetes at the age of sixty. She was buried in Providence Memorial Park in Metairie, Louisiana. She was posthumously inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1978.

Joy To The World
Mahalia Jackson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let earth receive her king
Let ev'ry heart prepare him room
And heav'n and nature sing
And heav'n and heav'n and nature sing

Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness

And wonders of his love
And wonders, and wonders of his love

Overall Meaning

Mahalia Jackson's "Joy to the World" is a Christmas carol that celebrates the arrival of the Lord, and how his presence has brought joy and peace to the world. The song begins by urging everyone to rejoice in the Lord's coming, for he is the king of the earth. It implores every heart to prepare room for him and then encourages the earth and heavens to sing in praise of the arrival of the king. The second verse continues the celebration, with a call for men to employ their songs in honor of the Savior, while natural elements like fields, floods, rocks, hills, and plains echo the joyful sounds.

The third verse speaks of the transformative power of the Lord's arrival. It declares that he has come to remove sins and sorrows from the world, and to bless it with his love in all corners, even where the curse had once taken hold. The fourth verse confirms the Lord's supremacy over the world and his ability to rule it with truth and grace, and it encourages the nations to reveal the glories of his righteousness, and the wonder of his love. Overall, this song celebrates the impact of the Lord's coming upon the world, declaring that his presence has brought joy, peace, and blessings to every aspect of life.

Line by Line Meaning

Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let all rejoice as the Lord has arrived

Let earth receive her king
Let the world eagerly accept its King

Let ev'ry heart prepare him room
Let each person ready their heart for his arrival

And heav'n and nature sing
All of heaven and the natural world celebrate his coming

And heav'n and heav'n and nature sing
The heavenly hosts and nature continue their hymn of joy

Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns
The Savior reigns and earth is full of joy

Let men their songs employ
Let everyone rejoice and sing praises

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Let all of nature, no matter how great or small, sing praises

Repeat the sounding joy
Rejoice and sing it again

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
Keep singing and repeating the joyful refrain

No more let sins and sorrows grow
May sin and sadness no longer spread