Lift Every Voice and Sing

Original Poem by J. Rosamond 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 faith that the dark past has tought 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.

sing a song full of faith that the dark past has tought 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.

James Weldon Johnson (1900)

You can read his own words about the composition at: www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46549/lift-every-voice-and-sing