Lift Every Voice and Sing - Star Spangled Music€¦ · The song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is...
Transcript of Lift Every Voice and Sing - Star Spangled Music€¦ · The song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is...
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LiftEveryVoiceandSingAfricanAmericanAnthem
1900
WordsbyJamesWeldonJohnsonMusicbyJ.RosamondJohnson
(GMajor•LowVoice)EditedbyMarkClagueandAndrewKuster
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LiftEveryVoiceandSing,1900LyricbyJamesWeldonJohnson;MusicbyJ.RosamondJohnson
HistoricalNoteOftenreferredtoasthe“AfricanAmericanNationalAnthem”or“BlackNationalAnthem,”LiftEveryVoiceandSingfeatureswordsbyJamesWeldonJohnson(1871–1938)settomusicbyhisbrotherJ.RosamondJohnson(1873–1954).
Thereareconflictingdetailsaboutthesong’screation.Somesourcesreportthatthetextprecededthemusicbyfiveyears.Inhisautobiography,AlongThisWay(1933),howeverJamesWeldonJohnsonexplainsthatthesongwasinspiredbytwothings.First,JohnsonadmiredapoemaboutAbrahamLincolnwrittenbyaSouthernwhiteman,butfeltthat“therewasyettobewrittenagreatpoemonLincoln,theexpressionofaNegro”(153).AskedtoofferanaddressforacelebrationofLincoln’sBirthdayin1900,Johnsonbegantoworkonsuchagrandpoem.Inconversationwithhisbrotherandsongwritingpartner,however,thepoembecameasongtobeperformedby500blackschoolchildren,includingmanyfromtheEdwinM.StantonSchoolinJacksonville,Florida,whereJamesWeldonJohnsonservedasprincipal.
After“grindingout”thewordsofthefirststanzawithpenonpaper,thepoetdescribesthe“feverishecstasy”ofinspirationasthe“spiritofthepoemhadtakenhold.”Hecompletedthethreeversesquickly,workingnowwithoutpenandpaper.Asthelyriccameintofocusinhismind,thepoet“couldnotkeepbackthetears.”ForJohnson,thelyricexpressed“theAmericanNegro,historicallyandspiritually”(154–55).
“AssoonasRosamondhadfinishedhisnoblesetting,”JamesWeldonreports,“hesentacopyofthemanuscripttoourpublishersinNewYork.”Copiesweremadeforthechorusand“thesongwastaughttothechildrenandsungveryeffectivelyatthecelebration.”TheJohnsonbrotherssoonmovedtoNewYork,joiningtheartistsandintellectualsatthecenteroftheHarlemRenaissance.Henotedthatthesong“passedoutofourminds,”butthattheschoolchildrenofJacksonville“keptsingingthesong.”Overthenexttwodecades,thesongtookrootintheblackcommunity.It“wasbeingsunginschoolsandchurchesandonspecialoccasionsthroughouttheSouth,”Johnsonwrites(155).
In1919,theNationalAssociationfortheAdvancementofColoredPeople(NAACP),forwhomJamesWeldonJohnsonservedasexecutivesecretary,adoptedthesongasthe“Negronationalhymn.”Thequestionof
whethertocallthesongthe“nationalanthem”ora“hymn”hascreatedperiodiccontroversy.ThesongwasrecentlyintroducedtoanewgenerationbyBeyoncéaspartofher2018CoachellasetanditsliverecordingHomecoming(2019).
Despiteitspopularity,thesheetmusichereisnotwidelyavailable.Thefinancialinterestofitspublishercertainlylimiteddistributionineconomicallychallengedcommunities.Johnsonreportedthat“intravelinground,IhavecommonlyfoundprintedortypewrittencopiesofthewordspastedinthebacksofhymnalsandthesongbooksusedinSundayschools,Y.M.C.A’sandsimilarinstitutions;andIthinkthatisthemethodbywhichitgetsitswidestcirculation”(155).Johnsonevenheardit“ferventlysung”bywhitestudentsatBrynMawrCollegeinhonorofaspeechhewasgivingonthecampus.
PerformanceSuggestionsAswithanyanthemitisbothtraditionalandconsideredanexpressionofrespecttostandwhilesinging“LiftEveryVoiceandSing.”SourcesThiseditionbasedonthecommercialsheetmusiceditionpublishedin1921bytheEdwardB.MarksMusicCorporation(NewYork).UseThesong“LiftEveryVoiceandSing”isfirmlyinthepublicdomain.Thiseditionisofferedfreeofchargeforeducationalorcommunityuseunderacreativecommonslicense.Forotheruses,pleasecontactinfo@starspangledmusic.organdpleasesharenewswithusofyourperformances.SupportStarSpangledMusicEditionsPleaseconsideratax-deductibledonationtotheStarSpangledMusicFoundationtosupportthiseffortandpurchasetheStarSpangledSongbook—aspiralboundcollectionofalloursongeditionswithexpandededitorialcommentary.TheStarSpangledMusicFoundationisa501(c)(3)non-profitorganization.Seewww.starspanglemusic.org/donate.Questionsorsuggestions?Pleaseemailtoeditions@starspanglemusic.org©©CreativeCommonsLicense2014StarSpangledMusicFoundationstarspangledmusic.org
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WordsJames Weldon Johnson(1871–1938)
Creative Commons Copyright 2014 Star Spangled Music Foundation, p. 1
Lift Every Voice and SingAfrican-American Anthem
This score a minor third lower than the source.1900
MusicJ. Rosamond Johnson
(1873–1954)
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2 Lift Every Voice and Sing
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3Lift Every Voice and Sing
Editions-Cover-LiftEveryVoiceEditions-TEXT-LiftEveryVoiceLiftEveryVoice-G (low voice) - edited