On August 28th, 2025, Vince Gill’s legendary eulogy “Go Rest High On That Mountain” celebrated the 30th Anniversary of its release. Saving Country Music marked the occasion with a retrospective on the song, and the impact it’s had. Though only a minor hit upon its release by reaching #14 on the charts, the song has since become one of the most beloved in the history of country music, let alone the history of Vince Gill.
Now to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the song, an extended version of the song has been released. It includes a verse that Vince Gill commonly includes when singing it live. He first added the verse when performing the song with wife Amy Grant during a Christmas performance at the Ryman Auditorium in 2019.
“The last thirty years I’ve always felt like something was missing from this song,” Gill explained recently. “With this new third verse I finally feel like the song is complete.”
You’re safely home in the arms of Jesus
Eternal life my brother’s found
The day will come I know I’ll see him
In that sacred place, on that holy ground
Though the words and Vince Gill’s singing of them are new to the recording, they used the original sound bed for the song to create the new version. And don’t worry, if you prefer the old version, it can still be found on his album When Love Finds You and streaming services.
Also as part of the 30th Anniversary and in conjunction with the new version, label MCA Nashville went through the process of re-evaluating the sales and streams of the song, and it’s now officially Certified Double Platinum by the RIAA as of September 12th, speaking to the song’s enduring impact.
Also, Vince Gill will perform the new, extended version of the song on Sunday, September 14th during the In Memoriam segment as part of the 2025 Emmy Awards.
Vince Gill was first struck by inspiration to write the song in 1989 after the tragic death of Keith Whitley, but never quite got the song to where he wanted it to be. When Gill’s older brother Bob died in 1993, that is what inspired Vince to complete it. Neither Keith Whitley nor Gill’s brother Bob are named in the song directly. Whitley is alluded to though when the song “I’m No Stranger To The Rain” is referenced in the first verse.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source savingcountrymusic.com ’
