About The Song
“Peace in the Valley” (also known as “There’ll Be Peace in the Valley for Me”) is a gospel song written by Thomas A. Dorsey in 1939. It was recorded by American country music artist John Anderson and released on October 6, 1986, as a track on his eighth studio album Countrified. The album was issued by Warner Bros. Nashville. Jim Ed Norman produced the album, with Anderson also involved in production on some listings. The track runs approximately 3 minutes and 43 seconds.
The song was not issued as a commercial single from the album and did not appear on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Countrified peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The album marked Anderson’s final studio release for Warner Bros. Records before he moved to MCA Nashville in 1987. Other singles from the same album included “Honky Tonk Crowd” (number 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart) and “Countrified” (number 44).
Recording sessions for Countrified took place at Digital Recorders, The Loft, The Music Mill, and Sound Stage studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Session credits associated with the project include contributions from musicians such as Billy Sanford, Reggie Young, Fred Carter Jr., and Vernon Pilder on guitar; Sonny Garrish, Buddy Emmons, and Buck Reid on steel; Joe Allen and Michael Rhodes on bass; Roy Yeager and Milton Sledge on drums; Hargus “Pig” Robbins and Mitch Humphries on keyboards; Mark O’Connor on fiddle; and Bobby Thompson on banjo. Background vocals were provided by Donna Anderson. Arrangements were handled by Bergen White.
Thomas A. Dorsey is the sole songwriter credited. The track appears as the closing song on the original album sequence of Countrified. The composition was originally written for Mahalia Jackson and first published in 1939. A commercially successful version by Red Foley with the Sunshine Boys reached number 7 on the Country & Western Best Seller chart in 1951 and was among the first gospel recordings to sell one million copies. Other notable versions include those by Elvis Presley (1957), Johnny Cash, and various country and gospel artists.
Anderson’s recording has appeared on later reissues, including the Collectors’ Choice Music CD edition of Countrified (2007) and compilation releases under the Warner catalog. A re-recorded version appears on the 2019 collection 40 Years & Still Swingin’. Official audio is available through the John Anderson YouTube channel and Warner catalog reissues under Rhino/Warner Records.
Primary sources document consistent songwriting credit to Thomas A. Dorsey, production by Jim Ed Norman, the October 6, 1986 album release context, the absence of independent single chart performance for Anderson’s version, and the album’s number 17 placement on the Top Country Albums chart. These details place the recording within Anderson’s mid-1980s Warner Bros. catalog period as the closing track of his final album for the label.
Video
Lyric
Well I’m tired and so weary
But I must go alone
Til the Lord comes and calls me, calls me away, oh yes
Well the morning is bright
And the lamb is the light
And the night, night is as fair as the day, oh yesThere will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for meWell the bear will be gentle
And the wolf will be tame
And the lion shall lay down, down with the lamb, oh yes
Well the beast from the wild
Will be led by a child
And I’ll be changed from this creature that I am, oh yesThere will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me
There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me