Lyrics
When the great trumpet sounds
When the great trumpet sounds
Tell me where will I be
Where will I be
When God places one foot on the land and on the sea
Tell me where will I be when it sounds, oh yes
Will I be running to the mountains
Saying mountains fall on me
Will I be shouting hallelujah
As my Savior's face I see
Will I be weeping, wailing, gettin' up, fallin' down
Tell me where will I be when it sounds, oh yes
Will I be resting in the bosom in the God of Abraham
Will I be washing out my robe in the blood of the lamb
Will I be out of the mortal to immortality
Tell me where will I be when it sounds, oh yes
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
When the Great Trumpet Sounds uses a series of urgent questions to examine readiness for the final appearing of Christ. The recurring trumpet is not treated as a distant detail; it becomes the moment that reveals each person’s standing before God. Contrasting images of people fleeing to the mountains and believers shouting hallelujah give the song a sober tension between fear and joyful expectation. Its country gospel repetition keeps the central question in view without offering easy self-assurance.
The verses draw from biblical pictures of final judgment and resurrection. The land and sea, the mountains, white robes, the Lamb, and the change from mortality to immortality all point toward passages in Revelation and Paul’s teaching about the resurrection. Rest in the company of Abraham expresses hope of belonging among the faithful, while seeing the Savior’s face gives that hope a personal center. The lyric therefore serves as both warning and confession, directing attention to Christ before the trumpet sounds.
Related Scripture
- 1 Corinthians 15:52-53 Paul connects the last trumpet with resurrection and mortality putting on immortality.
- Revelation 6:15-17 At judgment, people call for the mountains to fall on them.
- Revelation 7:14 The redeemed wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb.