Where The Soul Of Man Never Dies: A Song History

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In hymnals this gospel song usually goes by the shorter title "Where the Soul Never Dies." Hymnary.org credits both its words and its melody to William M. Golden and dates them to 1914.[1][2] Golden was born in Webster County, Mississippi, on January 28, 1878, and died in a road accident near Eupora, Mississippi, on May 13, 1934. By one account he composed most of his songs while serving an eight-year term in the state penitentiary.[1][2]

Panoramic valley with hazy mountains, a winding river under a blue sky, and tiny figures climbing a curved stair toward a fountain in the foreground

Robert S. Duncanson, Vale of Kashmir, 1867. Cleveland Museum of Art. Public domain (CC0).

Hymnary.org pairs the text with Revelation 21:4.[1] The tune, in F major with a refrain, has also been printed under the names "Where the Soul Never Dies" and "Golden."[2] The text appears in 107 hymnals by Hymnary.org's count, and church and gospel songbooks of recent decades still carry it, among them Songs of Faith and Praise (1994), Best of Southern Gospel (2016) and Standard Songs of the Church (2017).[1]

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Sources

  1. Hymnary.org: "Where the Soul Never Dies".
  2. Hymnary.org: Tune by William M. Golden (1914).