Twelve Gates to the City

Heavenly sky

Twelve Gates to the City is one of those standard sacred tunes that has lasted for generations, recorded by Joan Baez, Carly Simon, Bob Dylan, The Weavers, the Davis Sisters and a host of entertainers over the years because of its lyrics and melody, both of whom that have an everlasting appeal for many people.

The origin of the song Twelve Gates to the City is obscure but it is likely among the gospel songs handed down from generations of people longing for the freedom of the prophecy concerning the twelve gates to the city.   It was especially important for African Americans held in bondage in America during the time of slavery.  The prospect of those heavenly gates gave them something to sing about.   

In the Old Testament when Jerusalem was rebuilt, Neremiah named the twelve gates to the City of Jerusalem, a symbol of the return of the Jews to the Promised Land to wait for the Messiah or as precursor to Christ's Second Coming, according to Christians, with those gates representing the way to heaven.

The song is done here in its standard version: