Go_Down_Moses "Go Down Moses" is an American Negro spiritual. It describes events in the Old Testament of the Bible, specifically Exodus 5Moses to demand the release of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. The opening verse as published by the Jubilee Singers in 1872 When Israel was in Egypt's land Oppress'd so hard they could not stand, Let my People go. Go down, Moses, Way down in Egypt land, Tell old Pharaoh, Let my people go.