James Weldon Johnson – NARA – 559201 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The poem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” written by James Weldon Johnson, is performed by Sister Bless Lights.
According to PBS.org, “Lift Every Voice & Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem, was first sung by a group of 500 children in honor of President Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, 1900. Here are the lyrics to this time-honored anthem:
Lift Every Voice & Sing
by James Weldon Johnson
Lift every 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 thro’ 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 meet 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.
________
Lyrics retrieved from http://genius.com/James-weldon-johnson-lift-every-voice-and-sing-annotated, February 11, 2015
Video © 2014 Verneda Lights. All rights reserved.
Photos courtesy of Wikipedia, Pixabay, Folio, and publicdomainpictures.net
Video is a Mr. Lennie Production, created by Verneda Lights, E-graphX Omnimedia. Recorded at Lights Sound Studio, Port Royal, SC, January 15, 2014. If video does not immediately appear, refresh page. This video is also available on our Youtube channel.
