Shall We Gather at the River?

"Shall We Gather at the River?" or simply "At the River" are the popular names for the traditional Christian hymn originally titled "Beautiful River" and subsequently titled "Hanson Place," written by American poet and gospel music composer Robert Lowry (1826–1899). It was written in 1864 and is now in the public domain. The title "Hanson Place" is a reference to the original Hanson Place Baptist Church in Brooklyn, where Lowry, as a Baptist minister, sometimes served. The original building now houses a different denomination.

The music is in the key of D and uses an 8.7.8.7 R meter. An arrangement was also composed by Charles Ives and titles "At The River." A later arrangement is included in Aaron Copland's Old American Songs (1952) in addition to being used by German composer Anton Plate in 'At The River' (2003), and by American wind band composer David Maslanka in his Symphony No. 9 (2011). The song was sung live at the 1980 funeral of American Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. The Charles Ives version of the hymn was arranged, fully orchestrated for jazz orchestra and recorded the 2014 album Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra.

There have been many recordings of the hymn including those by Patti Page, Burl Ives and Willie Nelson.