May We Lift EVERY Voice

[ancianita]

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening 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 chastening 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 has brought us thus far on the way
Thou who has 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
Our native land

[japple]

1. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this.

Smiling through the tears...this is so beautiful.

[wendyb-NC]

2. Magnificent

So beautiful and heartfelt. Thank you for posting.

[luvs2sing]

3. I so love singing this song!

The first time I sang it was literally the first time I heard it, in 2009, singing with a local interfaith choir and the Tuskegee University Golden Voices at a Black History Month program honoring the Tuskegee Airmen (several of whom were present). I got the music just as the program was starting, noticed it was written in C, and quickly ran to the accompanist and asked her to play a middle C for me so I could try to sight read.

When it came our turn to join the Golden Voices, we walked on stage, and the director placed us by voice part. I sing tenor, and he put me right in the middle of the front row. So, there I was, a white woman old enough to be their mother, if not grandmother, front and center, and the only person singing from a score. I held my own, though I got a little confused a couple times, but in no way did I deserve to be anywhere but maybe beneath the stage.

As I walked off, I noticed one of the Airmen sitting in a wheelchair just off stage. He motioned me over to him and held out his hand. I knelt down before him, and he took both of my hands and said, “You did real good up there. You should be proud of yourself.” I thanked him, hugged him, and cried a little. Ok, I cried all the way home.

That evening, we had another program with the Golden Voices at a church. I was sitting next to an elderly choir director. Throughout the Golden Voices performance, he would tell me about the song they were singing, explaining vocal techniques and just filling me with knowledge about gospel music.

When they got ready to sing this song, they asked us to join them again. I had turned my music in, and I mentioned that to Frank. He smiled, “I just happen to have an extra copy with me, and I’ll share it with you.” I made it through this time without a hitch.

A couple days later, I received an email from one of the choir members telling me to go to a website for a surprise. The site was a local news site for the black community. The headline was about the program I had sung in, and the accompanying picture was me, front and center, clutching my musical score, singing my heart out. I emailed the photographer, and a week or two later, he sent me a copy of the picture which I have framed on my desk to this day. I’d share it here if I could figure out how.

And yes, I can now sing this song from memory.

[ancianita]

4. Oh how touching is your story, luvs2sing!

I've always loved the anthem, too, in almost all its versions. We used to sing Lift Every Voice at the start of every assembly at the Chicago high schools I taught in. I don't remember a time when I didn't tear up, feeling the meaning of it for the thousands of students I sang it with.

I got to remember all the words, too. They're so meaningful that people like to read them anyway.