Songfacts®:

• This is a traditional Bahamian ballad from the 19th century, which offered a message of hope that however bad the trial he or she was facing there was a promise of liberty and freedom in the afterlife. It was based on Biblical passages such as Revelations 21 v4 where there is the promise that "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
• By the 1950s the song had become popular in the American south and in the early 1960s it was a staple of the folk revival. Among the artists to have recorded the song are Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Peter, Paul and Mary.
• This was one of the songs featured in the medley "An American Trilogy" sung by Elvis Presley in concerts in the 1970s together with "Dixie" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."
• Paul McCartney has stated on several occasions how he was inspired by Joan Baez's version of "All My Trials" when he wrote the chord change from D to Ami in the A-section of the 1963 Beatles song "I'll Get You."
• When Paul McCartney released his live version of this song, some commentators took it to be a protest against cash cuts by the Conservative government in the National Health Service.
• McCartney's version of this song can only be found on the abridged Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights! album (not available in the US), it can't be found on the original album.