AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS SONGS
revised 1/19/2010; Ms. Azizi Powell
Founder/Editor, Cocojams.com
This page contains text & video examples of and comments about selected African American civil rights songs. "Civil rights songs" are also known as "freedom songs".
Many freedom songs are modifications of 19th century or earlier African American spirituals or post civil war African American gospel songs. The freedom song has the same tune and many of the same words as the religious song. However, the tempos of the civil rights song and the religious song may differ.
.
Like spirituals and other folk songs, the words to civil rights songs aren't fixed. Verses can be left off, the order of verses can be changed, and new verses can be added as the spirit moves the singers. Also, these songs may be sung for other than civil rights purposes. For example, the songs "We Shall Overcome" and "We Shall Not Be Moved" were used by Black Americans and White Americans and others during the workers' union movements. and were later revised for the 1960s civil rights movement by persons active in that movement.
Most of the songs on this page are from my memories of the African American civil rights movement (early-mid 1960s). I learned these songs in Atlantic City, New Jersey 1962-1965. I consider myself to have been a passive participant in the civil rights movement. The only demonstrations that I participated in was one time in 1962 or 1963 during a convention in Newark, New Jersey along with other members of that state's youth branches of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). During that occassion, we marched down a couple of downtown sidewalk streets singing freedom songs. During that time period I also marched on what I now conside "pretend demonstrations" on sidewalks in Black neighborhoods of Atlantic City, New Jersey. (The area of the town is significant, as I believe that if these were "real" demonstrations, we would have probably been marching in the dowtown area of the city or in (other) White areas of the town. Note that I consider the downtown area to have been a "White" area of that city, since I don't recall any stores or other businesses that were owned or even operated by Black people or other non-White people.
I also was priviledged to participate in the 1963 March On Washington. However, I don't really consider that a "real" civil rights demonstration, at least not one in which participants faced imminent opposition from segregationists or police who supported segregationists". (See a repost of a Mudcat discussion forum comment that I wrote about this experience below)..
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Thanks to all who help raise awareness of and appreciation for these songs!
Also, thanks to all who were and who are involved in civil rights movements throughout the world!
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Please send lyrics to civil rights songs for possible posting on this page to cocojams17@yahoo.com
Your email address is never posted or shared.
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DEDICATION:
This page is dedicated to all those who have died for the cause of freedom throughout the world.
This page is also dedicated to all those who continue to work for freedom. justice, and equal rights for all.
This video/poem is for you:
Maya Angelou- Still I Rise
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EXAMPLES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS SONGS
A,B
AINT GONNA LET NOBODY TURN ME 'ROUND
(based on an African American spiritual)
Aint gonna let nobody
turn me 'roun
turn me 'roun
Aint gonna let nobody
turn me roun
I'm gonna keep on walkin'
keep on talkin
walkin into freedom land
Aint gonna let (add the name a prominent segregationist)
turn me 'roun
turn me 'roun
Aint gonna let (repeat name)
turn me 'roun
I'm gonna keep on walkin'
keep on talkin
walkin into freedom land
Aint gonna let no jailhouse
turn me 'roun
turn me 'roun
Aint gonna let no jailhouse
turn me 'roun
I'm gonna keep on walkin'
keep on talkin
walkin into freedom land
Aint gonna let no policemen
turn me 'roun
turn me 'roun
Aint gonna let no policemen
turn me round
I'm gonna keep on walkin'
keep on talkin
walkin' into freedom land
Aint gonna let no playa haters
turn me 'round
turn me 'round
Aint gonna let no playa haters
turn me 'round
I'm gonna keep on walkin
keep on talkin
walkin into freedom land
-snip-
This song is based on an African American spiritual. The word "marchin" may be substituted for "walkin".
Traditionally, the lyrics to African American social and/or religious songs aren't fixed. With each rendition of a song, people could leave off verses, add verses, and/or change the order of verses. To demonstrate this characteristic, in 2007, I decided to add the last verse above to this song as a means of updating it with current African American slang.. A "playa hater" (player hater) is a person who is jealous of another person's possessions, accomplishments, looks etc. A playa hater could also be antagonistic toward the person for no reason at all.
Other verses to this song are found on http://www.songsforteaching.com/folk/aintgonnaletnobodyturnmearound.php
-snip-
Here's a YouTube video of Joan Baez singing "Marching Up To Freedom Land" (Also know as "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFjBOafEN2M
Posted by Baez971
August 04, 2006
"Joan baez singing acapella"
**
Here's another video of that song:
The Chicago Children's Choir visits the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, AL.
Posted by SPLCenter
July 27, 2007
C,D
CERTAINLY LORD
(This civil rights song is based on the African American spiritual "Have You Got Good Religion)
Do you want your freedom?
"Certainly, Lord"
Do you want your freedom?
"Certainly, Lord"
Do you want your freedom?
"Certainly, Lord"
Certainly, Certainly, Certainly Lord
Will you march for your rights?
"Certainly, Lord"
Will you march for your rights?
"Certainly, Lord"
Will you march for your rights?
"Certainly, Lord"
Certainly, Certainly, Certainly, Lord
Will you go to jail?
"Certainly, Lord"
Will you go to jail?
"Certainly, Lord"
Will you go to jail?
"Certainly, Lord"
Certainly, Certainly, Certainly, Lord
Jail over bail?
"Certainly, Lord"
Jail over bail?
"Certainly, Lord"
ail over bail?
"Certainly, Lord"
Certainly, Certainly, Certainly, Lord
-snip-
Here's a video of a church choir singing a rendition of "Have You Got Good Religion".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLFYYuqEAL4
Posted by jayhardinchristine
June 22, 2009
"Sis. Calloway leading the SBC Gospel Choir in singing "Have you got good religion". Have you got good religion? Certainly, Lord. Certainly, certainly, certainly, Lord. "
-snip-
It appears that the choir is singing this song during the congregational offering. In my home Baptist church (in my hometown), one of the two offerings is are also done this way. Members of the congregation moves row by row to the front to give their donations of money. After them the choir comes down from their rows on the rostum behind the minister/s to give their offering or a plate is passed to the choir and ministers.
"SBC" probably stands for "Shiloh Baptist Church" or "Second Baptist Church". Both of these are very common church names among African Americans throughout the United States.
**
Here's a rendition of the traditional African American spiritual as sung by two African American operatic singers, backed by an African American choir:
Jessye Norman + Kathleen Battle 'Certainly, Lord' 1990
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVaN3TIMDM0
Posted by LEGENDSOFTHEROD1
July 09, 2009
"[For blasianFMA] Performing at Carnegie Hall .... with James Levine .... March 1990"
-snip-
In my experience, the civil rights song has a faster tempo than these renditions of the spiritual (gospel?) song.
E,F
FREE AT LAST
(Anonymous; traditional African American song)
Chorus:
Free at last- free at last-
I thank God I'm free at last-
Free at last- free at last-
I thank God I'm free at last!
Way down yonder in the graveyard walk,
I thank God I'm free at last,
Me an' my Jesus gonna meet and talk.-
I thank God I'm free at last-
Free at last- Free at last-
Oh, I thank God I'm free at last!
On my knees when the light passed by,
I thank God I'm free at last-
Thought my soul would rise and fly,
I thank God I'm free at last.
Free at last- free at last-
I thank God I'm free at last!
Some of these mornings, bright and fair,
I thank God I'm free at last-
Gonna meet King Jesus in the air,
I thank God I'm free at last.
Free at last- free at last-
I thank God I'm free at last.
****
FREEDOM
F-R-E-E-D-O-M What does that spell? FREEDOM! That's what we need. FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Anonymous; 6/7/2007
Editor:
Anonymous 6/7/2007, thanks for sending that chant in. It reminded me of this chant which was widely used during Civil Rights demonstrations in the USA:
What do we want? Freedom!!! When do we want it? Now!!!
G,H
HOLD ON (also known as "Keep Your Eye On The Prize")
(based on an African American spiritual "Keep Your Hand On The Gospel Plow"; also known as "Keep Your Hand To The Plow")
Paul and Silas bound in jail
with no money to forgo their bail
Keep your eye on the prize
and hold on, hold on
chorus:
Hold on
Hold on
Keep your eye on the prize
and hold on, hold on.
If religion was a thing
that money could buy
the rich would live and the
poor would die
Keep your eye on the prize
and hold on, hold on.
chorus
One and one
that makes two
tell you what I'm-ma gonna do
Keep my eye on the prize
and hold on, hold on
chorus
Know the one thing we did wrong
stayed in the wilderness far too long
Know the first thing we did right
was the day we started to fight
Keep your eye on the prize hold on, hold on
Editor:
Thanks, Mama Kemba for sending in the third verse to this song on 2/26/2008. Thanks, also, to bill allen for sending a message on 4/24/2009 which noted that "Keep Your Eye On The Prize" is an urban version of the rural (farm or plantation) song ""Hold On". bill also included these verses in his message:
1. When you plow, don't lose your track, Can't plow straight and keep a-lookin' back.
Keep your hand on that plow, hold on (Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.)
2. Wanna getta heav'n?, I'll tell you how, Keep your hand right on that plow. (Keep your eyes...)
3. When I thought I was lost, Dungeon shook and the chains fell off.
(Keep your eyes...)
4. Got my hands on the gospel plow, Wouldn't take nothin' for my journey now.
(Keep your eyes...)
5. The only chain we can stand, Is the chain of hand in hand
(Keep your eyes...)
-snip-
Other verses can be added to this song, and to all of the other songs on this page. What verses can you think of for this song or for other freedom songs?
Visit this Mudcat Discussion Forum thread about the song "Keep your eyes on the prize" http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?ThreadID=4136
**
Here's a song file of Mahalia Jackson singing "Keep Your Hand To The Plow"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaIoE97LtjU&feature=fvw
Posted by jahboyz3
January 27, 2008
I,J
IF YOU MISS ME FROM THE BACK OF THE BUS
(adapted from the song composed by Charles Neblett of the Freedom Singers to the tune of "O Mary Don't You Weep."
If you miss me at the back of the bus
If you can't find me back there
Come on up to the front of the bus
I'll be sittin right there
I'll be sittin right there
Come on up to the front of the bus
I'll be sittin right there
If you can't find me in the school room
If you can't find me in there
Come on out to the picket line
I'll be standin right there
I'll be standin right there
Come on out to the picket line
I'll be standin right there
If you can't find me in the picket line
If you can't find me out there
Come on down to the jail house
I'll be singin in there
I'll be singin in there
Come on down to the jail house
I'll be singin in there
If you can't find me in jail house
If you don't see me in there
Come on over to the church yard
I'll be prayin out there
I'll be prayin out there
Come on over to the church yard
I'll be prayin out there.
[Here are some additional verses from a 1963 book Sing Out! (a publication of civil rights songs edited by Guy and Candie Carawan, published by Oak Publications; New York ; p. 50; {Library of Congress Number 63-23278}.
If you miss me from the front of the bus,
and you can't find me nowhere,
Come on up to the driver's seat,
I'll be driving up there. etc.
If you miss me from Jackson State,
and you can't find me no where
Come on over to Ole Miss,
I'll be studyin' over there. etc.
If you miss me from knockin' on doors
and you can't find me nowhere
Come on down to the registrar's room,
I'll be the registrar there. ect.
If you miss me from the cotton field,
and you can't find me nowhere.
Come on down to the court house,
I'll be voting right there. etc
If you miss me from the picket line,
and you can't find me nowhere.
Come on down to the jail house,
I'll be rooming down there. etc.
If you miss me from the Mississippi
River
and you can't find me nowhere
Come on down to the city pool
I'll be swimming in there. etc.
-snip-
See this Mudcat discussion forum post for more information on this song:
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=36629&messages=101#2095880
"Back of the Bus" songs
**
Here's a delighful sound file of this song by a group of schoolchildren:
Posted by SongsOfFreedomKids
January 18, 2008
"Kids in 2008 learning about and singing the classic song from the US Civil Rights Movement. "If You Miss Me from the Back of the Bus" was written by Charles Neblett of the Freedom Singers to the tune of "O Mary Don't You Weep.""
-snip-
The "video" includes the lyrics of the song along with drawings and photographs. This video reflects the time when people were protesting the Jim Crow laws or customs that dictated that non-White people had to sit in the back of the bus or get up from their bus seats if a White person wanted to sit there.
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I'M GONNA SIT AT THE WELCOME TABLE
(adapted from an African American spiritual)
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table,
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days,
Hallelujah!
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table,
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days.
I'm gonna walk the streets of glory,
I'm gonna walk the streets of glory one of these days,
Hallelujah!
I'm gonna walk the streets of glory,
I'm gonna walk the streets of glory one of these days.
I'm gonna get my civil rights,
I'm gonna get my civil rights one of these days,
Hallelujah!
I'm gonna get my civil rights,
I'm gonna get my civil rights one of these days.
I'm gonna sit at the Woolworth counter,
I'm gonna sit at the Woolworth counter one of these days,
Hallelujah!
I'm gonna sit at the Woolworth counter,
I'm gonna sit at the Woolworth counter one of these days.
Editor:
This song is based on an African American spiritual with the same title. It was part of a play written by the students of the McComb, Mississippi, Freedom School in 1964. Source: http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/courses/ci407ss/welcometable.html
See http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/courses/ci407ss/freedomschools.html
for information about freedom schools.
See also information about and sound clips of this Folkways record:
http://www.smithsonianglobalsound.org/trackdetail.aspx?itemid=17322
The Nashville Sit-in Story: Songs and Scenes of Nashville Lunch Counter Desegregation (by the Sit-In Participants)
See, also a discussion of this song on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=93754&messages=21
Origins: Gospel song 'The Welcome Table'
**
Here's a sound file of the African American gospel group "Wings Over Jordan singing "Sit At The Welcome Table"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyHTSxQ38EE&feature=related
Posted by gospellin
September 17, 2009
"One of America's greatest choirs heard nationwide on radio during the 40's and 50's. Their music ws also piped overseas to inspire our troops during World Ward 2."
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I'M ON MY WAY
(based on an African American spiritual "I'm On My Way to Canaan Land", and "I'm Bound For The Promised Land")
I'm on my way to the freedom land
I'm on my way to the freedom land
I'm on my way to the freedom land
I'm on my way, praise God
I'm on my way.
I asked my brother to come with me
I asked my brother to come with me
I asked my brother to come with me
I'm on my way, praise God
I'm on my way.
I asked my sister to come with me
I asked my sister to come with me
I asked my sister to come with me
I'm on my way, praise God
I'm on my way.
If they say no, I'll go alone
If they say no, I'll go alone
If they say no, I'll go alone
I'm on my way, praise God
I'm on my way.
I'm on my way, and I won't turn back
I'm on my way, and I won't turn back
I'm on my way, and I won't turn back
I'm on my way, praise God
I'm on my way.
http://www.songsforteaching.com/billharley/imonmyway.htm
-snip-
See this note from https://www.oldtownschool.org/resources/songnotes/songnotes_I.html :
"I'm On My Way
The Civil Rights movement in 1960s was the singingest movement in American history. Old African American spirituals like, “I Will Overcome,” “I'm On My Way to Canaan Land” and dozens of others were adapted by marchers and demonstrators throughout the South and across the nation. By design, the repetitive nature and “call back” structure of a spiritual make it ideal for improvised group singing."
Source: Sing for Freedom, edited and compiled by Guy and Candie Carawan. Sing Out! Publications.' Recordings on file by: Carter Family, Mahalia Jackson, Various artists".
**
Here's a sound file with a photo collage of Mahalia Jackson singing "I'm On My Way":
Posted by jahboyz3
August 17, 2008
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I WOKE UP THIS MORNIN'
(based on an African American spiritual)
(Well I) woke up this mornin' with my mind
stayed
on freedom.
Woke up this mornin' with my mind,
stayed on freedom.
Woke up this mornin' with my mind
stayed
on freedom.
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah.
(Oh well) I walked and talked
talked and walked
with my mind
stayed
on freedom.
Walked and talked
talked and walked
with my mind
stayed on freedom.
I walked and talked
talked and walked
with my mind
stayed
on freedom.
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah.
(You know) I sing and shout
shout and sing
with my mind
stayed on freedom.
sing and shout
shout and sing
with my mind
stayed
on freedom.
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah.
Nobody gonna stop me
cause my mind's
stayed
on freedom
Nobody gonna stop me
cause my mind's
stayed on freedom.
Aint nobody gonna stop me
cause my mind's
stayed
on freedom.
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah.
Woke up this mornin' with my mind
stayed
on freedom.
Woke up this mornin' with my mind,
stayed
on freedom.
Woke up this mornin' with my mind
stayed
on freedom.
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah.
-snip-
The words in parenthesis are optional. Instead of those words, you can sing "Yes, I woke up this mornin' etc". Or you can just start with the "Woke up this mornin".
Civil rights songs are "open ended". Other verses can be added to these songs, or used in place of the more well known verses. For example, I've just recently added the fourth and fifth verses to this song because they just came to me. What verses can you think of for this song?
**
Here's a YouTube video of Ruthie Foster singing " Woke Up This Mornin'"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVRcMECcI2E
Posted by anthonypepitoneVideo
May 27, 2007
K,L
LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING
(words composed by James Weldon Johnson; music composed by his brother John Rosemond Johnson)
Lift ev'ry voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list'ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast'ning rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered.
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by Thy might,
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.
Editor:
This song is considered the African American National Anthem (formerly known as the Negro National Anthem). There was a time when this song was taught in public schools attended by Black children. However, it appears to me that increasingly fewer younger people know the words of this song. Also, my experience has been that nowadays people don't know that it was traditional for folks to stand up while singing this song. Men were also supposed to take off their hats, just as they were supposed to do for the American national anthem. However, I have noticed that none of these customs have been practiced for years. But I'm one of those old people who reminds others (young and old) to stand ip while singing this song out of respect for our ancestors and out of respect for the memories that this song is supposed to evoke.
Here's a rendition of this song sung by R&B singer Kim Weston:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGWsqR6UbGk
Posted by Insightful
November 05, 2007
"R&B singer Kim Weston sings "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" in front of a 100,000 at Wattstax--a festival at the Los Angeles Coliseum on August 20, 1972 organized by the Memphis Stax label to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the Watts riots and black power, pride, culture, tradition and heritage struggle." [This is an excerpt of a longer summary. Please click the link to read the entire summary].
-snip-
In my experience the tempo for this song is somewhat slower than the way it is sung in that video. Notice the Black power symbol (right arm extended and raised almost to the level of your face, fist clenched) that is done by all the people on the stage except the vocalist and also by most of those attending this festival. I should note that in my experience this was not and is not traditional to this song, but certainly is symbolical of the spirit and intent of that Watstax festival..
M,N
MARCHING 'ROUND SELMA
Marching ‘round Selma like Jericho,
Jericho, Jericho
Marching ‘round Selma like Jericho
For segregation wall must fall
Look at people answering
To the Freedom Fighters call
Black, Brown and White American say
Segregation must fall
Good evening freedom’s fighters
Tell me where you’re bound
Tell me where you’re marching
“From Selma to Montgomery town
-snip-
See this note from http://www.negrospirituals.com/song.htm
"Sometimes the words of traditional Negro spirituals were slightly changed and adapted to special events. For example, the words of “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho (and the walls came tumbling down)” were changed into “Marching ‘round Selma”.
-snip-
Editor:
The 'n' in the word "Negro" was written in lower case on this website. I capitalized it because of my remembrances of the struggles in the 1950s and early 1960s to get this word capitalized like other racial and and national referents.
****
NO MORE AUCTION BLOCK FOR ME (also known as "Many Thousands Gone")
(This is an African American freedom song that was composed immediately after the end of the Civil War)
No more auction block for me
No more, no more
No more auction block for me
Many thousands gone
No more driver's lash for me
No more, no more
No more driver's lash for me
Many thousands gone
No more pint of salt for me
No more, no more
No more pint of salt for me
Many thousands gone
No more auction block for me
No more, no more
No more auction block for me
Many thousands gone
**
Here's a video of Odetta singing "No More Auction Block For Me"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYiVKhbOtcs&feature=related
Posted by synapsecracklepop
May 14, 2009
O,P
OH FREEDOM
Oh-o freedom.
Oh-o freedom
Oh freedom over me,
(Over me.)
And before I be a slave
I'll be buried in my grave.
And go home to my Lord and be free.
(and be free.)
No segregation
No segregation
No more segregation
Over me
(Over me)
And before I be a slave
I'll be buried in my grave.
And go home to my Lord and be free.
(and be free.)
No more weepin
No more weepin
No more weepin
Over me
(Over me)
And before I be a slave
I'll be buried in my grave.
And go home to my Lord and be free.
(and be free.)
No more tommin *
No more tommin
No more tommin
Out of me
(Out of me)
And before I be a slave
I'll be buried in my grave.
And go home to my Lord and be free.
(and be free.)
Oh-o freedom.
Oh-o freedom
Oh freedom over me,
(Over me.)
And before I be a slave
I'll be buried in my grave.
And go home to my Lord and be free.
(and be free.)
Editor:
To demonstrate new verses can be added to civil rights songs, I added the verse "No more tommin to "Oh Freedom". This is not a "traditional" verse for this song.
"Tommin': (verb): " actions by a Black man or Black men which demonstrate any or extreme submissiveness toward a White person or White people (based on Harriet Beecher Stowe's fictitious character "Uncle Tom" in the book in Uncle Tom's Cabin). The female version of an "Uncle Tom" is an "Aunt Jemima".
**
Here's a video of the song "Oh Freedom":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHmUPqI6w9g&feature=related
posted by swflprof
May 02, 2008
"A Negro Spiritual with pictures from the Library of Congress and National Archives. I decided on this Spiritual after researching the National Archives for photographs of Slavery. This is a topic I felt should not be ignored, nor exloited, rather remembered lest we repeat history"
-snip-
Since the formal referent for Black Americans was changed from "Negro" to "African Americans" by at least the early 1970s, I prefer to use the phrase "African American spirituals".
Q,R,S
T,U,V
THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE
(An African American spiritual)
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little little of mine
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine.
I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.
Additional verses:
Everywhere I go. I'm gonna let it shine etc.
All in my life. etc.
Deep in my heart etc.
**
Verses of "This Little Light of Mine" used as a freedom song
(Thanks to AIE, 5/25/2009)*
[Oh] deep down in the South etc.
[Oh] We have the light of freedom etc.
[Oh] God gave it to us We're going to let it shine etc
All in the church etc
*AIE wrote Oh, this little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine". The word "Oh" was only used for the first line. I put the word "Oh" in brackets to denote that it could be omitted. Like other spirituals and freedom songs, "This Little Light Of Mine" has no fixed verses. Verses can be omitted to this song and other verses can be added.
**
Here is a video of "This Little Light Of Mine" sung as a gospel song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4wDKP-Oi2A
Danae Andrea Howe singing with the POCC choir at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference in Seattle- December 2, 2006
Posted by danaeandrea
December 04, 2006
W.X,Y,Z
WE'LL NEVER TURN BACK
Editor: This is my transcription of this song as sung in the video provided below:. My apologies for any mistakes I made in this transcription.
We been 'buked
And we been scorned.
We been talked about
Sure as you born.
But we'll never turn back.
No, we'll never turn back.
Until we've all been freed.
And we'll have equality.
We have hung our heads and cried
Cried for (Jesus Christ who died)?
He died for you and He died for me.
Died for the cause of equality.
But we'll never turn back.
No, we'll never turn back.
Until we've all been freed.
And we'll have equality.
And we'll have equalit-e-e.[elongate this word]
**
Here's the video of this song from which I based my transcription:
We'll Never Turn Back (SNCC Freedom Singers, Chicago 2007)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-vUQHbevhM&feature=related
Posted byJoeGermuska
January 19, 2008
"From a performance on 10 Nov 2007 at Woodson Regional Library, Chicago, IL Presented by Chicago Area Friends of SNCC and the SNCC History Project "
-snio-
"SNCC" stands for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Click this link to find out more about this organization which was was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_Nonviolent_Coordinating_Committee
The first verse of "We'll Never Turn Back" borrows the words, but not the tune, of the African American spiritual "I Been 'Buked And I Been Scorned". ""Buked" is a short form of the word 'rebuked'.
****
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED
(based on an African American spiritual)
We shall not, we shall not be moved
(shall not be)
We shall not, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water,
We shall not be moved.
We're fighting for our rights (and)
we shall not be moved
(shall not be)
We're fighting for our rights and
we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water,
We shall not be moved.
We shall all be free (and)
we shall not be moved
(shall not be)
We shall all be free (and)
we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water,
We shall not be moved.
God is on our side (and)
we shall not be moved
(shall not be)
God is on our side (and)
we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water,
We shall not be moved.
Black and White together
we shall not be moved
(shall not be)
Black and White together
we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water,
We shall not be moved.
We shall not, we shall not be moved
(shall not be)
We shall not, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water,
We shall not be moved.
-snip-
Notes: See this verse of "We Shall Not Be Moved" that was used as a motivational union song:
"We shall not, we shall not be moved
We shall not, we shall not be moved
We'll building a mighty union,
We shall not be moved"
-Online source: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/7840/song6.htm
**
Here's a video of R&B/Gospel singer Mavis Staples singing a rendition of "We Shall Not Be Moved" that is geared to the union movement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbOQhyuKifw
Posted by nettiboy
July 30, 2008
"Mavis Staple live in Milan at the Milano Jazzin' Festival, Arena Civica - 29 July 2008"
-snip-
****
WE SHALL OVERCOME
(This civil rights song is based on an African American gospel song composed by an African American Methodist minister Charles Albert Tindley)
We shall overcome, we shall overcome
We shall overcome someday
Oh-o deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome someday
We shall all be free
We shall live all be free
We shall all be free someday
Oh-o deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome someday
Black and White together
Black and White together
Black and White together someday
Oh-o deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome someday
We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand someday
Oh-o deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome someday
The truth shall make us free
truth shall make us free
The truth shall make us free someday
Oh-o deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome someday
We are not afraid
We are not afraid
We are not afraid today
Oh-o deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome someday
Editor:
Here is some information about the civil rights song "We Shall Overcome":
The Encarta.com website indicates that " 'We Shall Overcome' is one of many songs written during the sit-ins, prayer vigils, and poster walks during the civil rights movement in the late 1950s and early 1960s" and that it is "loosely based on gospels and spirituals".
For an historical overview, see http://www.pipeline.com/~rgibson/overcomehistory.html
Editor's note: This article implies that there is a connection between "We Shall Overcome" and the African American "field song" that is known as the spiritual "I'll Be Alright". This may be true. However, the song "I'll Overcome Someday" (composer-Charles Albert Tindley) is universally considered as the basis for "We Shall Overcome".
Here is an excerpt from that website:
"The song [We Shall Overcome] was born in slavery.
It began as a field song, a work refrain that helped men and
women in bondage endure from sunup to sundown. They would
sing: "I'll be all right."
Like many songs that began in slavery, it had no one author
and no standard version. It spread and changed with the
seasons and generations and as slaves were sold from one
place to another in the American South.
In time there was a war, and the slaves won their freedom,
but only in a legal sense. The song survived in a new time
of lynching and Jim Crow. In 1901, as laws decreeing
separation between the races were being erected, a Methodist
minister named Charles Albert Tindley published a kindred
version: "I'll Overcome Someday."
It was a song of hope, a hymn for a better tomorrow. It
spread through black churches in the South and in the North,
and then through the Southern labor movement.
And in the year that the second World War ended, a faction
of black women were on strike, picketing the owners of a
tobacco plant in Charleston, S.C., at a time when mill
owners controlled almost everything and everyone, white and
black, and at a time when standing up for your rights could
mean a one-way trip in the back of a police car.
The strike dragged on and the women grew disheartened, and
as the rain came down, many dropped off the picket line.
One of the holdouts began to sing the song, vowing to
overcome the odds. Soon they all were singing. In the spirit
of union, they sang "we" instead of "I." And they invented a
new verse:
We will win our rights.
And when the strike was over, they had won their rights, or
at least a contract, and in that time and place that meant
something.
Two of the women visited a union and civil rights training
school far from home, in the Tennessee countryside. It was
at the Highlander Center that they taught the song and its
new verse to a new generation.
Along the way, the "will" became "shall," an old word, one
that had the sound of the Bible in it, and people sang
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome someday.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome someday."
**
Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Albert_Tindley for information on Charles Albert Tindley.
**
Here's a video of an African American congregation in South Carolina singing "I'll Overcome Someday":
I'll Overcome Someday
Posted by Hymnchoir
November 05, 2008
"This is the original version out of which grew "We Shall Overcome". Recorded by KB at St Paul Baptist Ch in Lowrys, SC (South Carolina)
-snip-
The way this church congregation sings this song is how I imagine African American worship services were like during slavery times in the American South. Notice the percussive foot stomping, the call & response singing, the improvisational nature of the singing, the spontaneous movements of the first lead singer who is standing and other members of the congregation who remain seated. Notice how other lead singers continue the song from their seats in what seems to be an unplanned way. Also notice the spontaneous spoken affirmations ("shouts") throughout the song, and the period of tetifying (giving praise/shouts) while the percussive foot stomping continues and then the song starts up again.
Hearing and seeing this is almost like experiencing a part of African American history that should be treasured but is scarcely even known.
Most Black Baptist churches I've attended in the North don't sing like this. I have attended some COCIG (Church of God In Christ) services in the North that were similar to this. I wonder if more Black churches in the Southern region of the USA sing like this than Black churches in any other regiion of the USA..
-snip-
"I'll Overcome Someday" is played on the piano and sung at a moderately fast tempo by the vocalist in this next video (which has an excellant photo-collage of historical African American photographs).
Posted by carolynyair
October 01, 2009
"Charles Albert Tindley Gospel "I'll Overcome Someday". Singer: Carolyn Disnew-Zameret. All pictures are of Afro-American slaves and ex-slaves
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Albert_Tindley:
"[Charles Albert] Tindley was a noted songwriter and composer of gospel hymns and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of American gospel music. Five of his hymns appear in the revised Methodist hymnal, which is used worldwide. His composition "I'll Overcome Someday"[1] is credited by some observers to be the basis for the U.S. Civil Rights anthem "We Shall Overcome,". The song "We Shall Overcome" was composed by artists at the Highlander Folk School in 1947: Tindley's song had been brought to the school in the 1930s by tobacco workers from Charleston, South Carolina. Zilphia Horton, cultural worker and educator, taught the song at the school, where others, such as Pete Seager, Guy Carawan, heard it. They altered Tindley's refrain "I'll Overcome Someday" to "We Shall Overcome" and the song was slowed down to be sung as a march hymn."
-snip-
"We Shall Overcome" was usually sung while people stood and held the hands of the persons standing at their side and swayed right & left in time with the music. When folks stood and held hands while singing "We Shall Overcome", their arms were criss-crossed at their waists, with the person on each side holding another individual's. My sense is that this symbolized unity & determination. I believe the proper way of doing this is for the right arm to be above the left arm, but I'm not certain about that. I don't think that this style of holding hands and singing was done for other civil rights songs. But since I really wasn't in the freedom movement, I'm also not sure about that.
Here's a link to a video of members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee showing how to do the right over left crossed arms style for singing "We Shall Overcome":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn7MOR1zpgw&feature=related
Singing "We Shall Overcome" and other civil rights songs strengthened the resolve of protesters during their civil rights demonstrations. People who were jailed because of their participation in the civil rights movement also sang "We Shall Overcome" and other freedom songs as testimony to their cause, to reinforce their spirit of unity with other protestors, and as a way of keeping up their courage.
"We Shall Overcome" has been sung throughout the world to commemorate the African American civil rights movement, other civil rights movements, and/or as a song of unity.
**
Mahalia Jackson singing "We Shall Overcome" -Live late 1960's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmR1YvfIGng
Posted by elfeco
February 25, 2007
Editor: Note the gospel tone in this performance of "We Shall Overcome" which harkens back to the religious roots of this song.
-snip-
Joan Baez - We Shall Overcome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTvlxUz80ho
Posted by heroesofthesidewalk
September 01, 2009
There are extensive summary notes about that song & the civil rights movement at that video link.
The method Joan Baez uses of stating the words to the verses before other people sing it is called "lining", Some African American gospel songs (and other African American and non-African American songs) still use this techinique.
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQiIZXkt2RM&NR=1 for a now classic video of Joan Baez singing "We Shall Overcome" at the 1969 Woodstock folk festival.
Also, here's a post that I wrote about my personal memories associated with the song "We Shall Overcome".
****
MY MEMORIES OF THE SONG "WE SHALL OVERCOME"
This is a re-post of a comment I wrote in the Mudcat Discussion Forum thread entitled "60's music and spirituality"
Click http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=76784#1364323here to read the entire thread.
"I had the honor of hearing Dr. Martin Luther King preach at my home church in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1960s. This may have been immediately prior to or during the Democratic Convention and the protest efforts of Fanny Lou Hammer and the Freedom Democratic Party. Or it may have been before the 1963 March on Washington.
My church, Union Baptist Temple, was a center of the both efforts in Atlantic City, and I distinctly remember an African American choir from the South singing the gospel version of "We Shall Overcome" there. Their rendition of "We'll Overcome" was much faster than the civil rights version, but had similar words. No one held hands to sing that song. Instead the song was sung with handclap {and piano/organ} accompaniment. This precluded the holding hands with those next to you in the criss crossed fashion that is symbolic of the civil rights version of "We Shall Overcome". I mean no disparagement of the unifying symbolism of such hand holding and moving side to side while singing that Civil Rights song. It works, at least on an ephemeral level to show people that we are linked together...
But the spirit that I felt from the Gospel singing of "We'll Overcome" was so much more.
As I wrote in another thread, that Southern church choir reminded us so-called "Middle class" African Americans from the North of the difficult life threatening conditions that they constantly face and that our ancestors faced in the South. They exhorted us to put our souls in our singing and not worry about form and fashion.
That singing was a real spiritual experience for me.
I also had the honor of attending the 1963 March On Washington. However, there were so many thousands of people there and I was so very far away from the stage, that I was not aware that Joan Baez or anyone else sang "We Shall Overcome" at event.
The atmosphere at the March On Washington was carnival-like in the best sense of that word. There was a feeling of disregard for those things that normally separate people from each other such as race, age, and economic class. You could feel the energy of so many people united in a positive cause. It felt good. That also was a spiritual experience for me, and I dare say for -most of the others there as well."
-Azizi Powell, 12/27/2004
****
COMMENTS ABOUT DESIGNATNG SONGS AS "SPIRITUALS" OR "GOSPELS"
Which African American religious songs are "spirituals" and which songs are "gospels" can be somewhat muddy. However, it's my experience that most African Americans consider "spirituals" to be those religious songs scomposed by (usually anonymous) African Americans prior to the end of the United States civil war (1865).
With the exception of anthems, African American religious songs which have known composers and which are composed after 1865 are generally considered to be "gospels". However, some traditional spirituals can be sung as gospels (meaning, sung in a Black gospel style). Also, some contemporary gospel songs may be composed in a style that is reminiscent of traditional African American spirituals. Fred Hammond's "When The Spirit Of The Lord" is an example of this. Click http://www.lyricskeeper.com/fred_hammond-lyrics/205266-when_the_spirit_o... for the lyrics to that song:
****
ADDITIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS SONGS:
Sweet honey in the rock - Ella's Song [a song for civil rights leaer Ella Baker]
Geepereet
December 02, 2008
**
I have posted additional songs related to the civil rights movement on Cocojams.com' sister website http://www.jambalayah.com/. An example of those videos is
http://www.jambalayah.com/node/98 The Staple Singers "Freedom Highway"
**
SOME ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESOURCES ON AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS SONGS
http://folkmusic.about.com/od/toptens/tp/CivilRightsSong.htm
http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart9b.html
Odetta - A tribute to the Voice of the Civil Rights Movement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzyBvMuccyw
Keep your eyes on the prize" also known as "Hold On": http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?ThreadID=4136
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/strangefruit/civilrights.html
****
Send the words to additional civil rights sngs (freedom songs) or other versions of the songs that are already listed to cocojams17@yahoo.com. Also, use that email address to send in any comments, questions, information, about any video links to Civil Rights songs.
Your email address is never posted or shared.
Thanks!
****
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