Tag: anthem

Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing: 120th Anniversary

February 12, 2020 is the 120th anniversary of the first performance of the song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”. I first became aware of this tune as a member of the local NAACP chapter in Rutland, VT, at a fund-raising dinner in 2018. Soon after at a Sunday service, I noticed this hymn in the New Century hymnal, one of our hymnals at Grace Congregational Church in Rutland.

The 6/8 time signature and melody have a powerful “anthem” quality to it. In fact, this song is often referred to as the “The Black National Anthem” by the NAACP and African Americans.

The lyrics to this song were written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson. His words were set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson in 1899.

This song was first performed in public as part of a celebration of President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12, 1900. The singers were a choir of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School, in Jacksonville, FL, where James Weldon Johnson was principal. You can view the lyrics and history for this anthem.

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Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing: Guitar melody, key of F

This melody is in the key of F, and has verse structure of A1-A2-B-A2. Knowing the verse structure will help you learn and memorize the melody quicker. This song’s verse structure has first and second sections (A1 and A2) which start out similarly, but diverge and also have a different cadence (last chord resolution) at end of phrase. The second and fourth sections are identical (both A2). Knowing where there is repetition is helpful to learning a song. The third section (B) is very unique and different from the other lines.

This song has quite a few interesting chords and chord progressions, so it is not your average 3-chord song. The third section (B) includes both D minor and Db Major chords, which each share the key note F. So while this section is challenging to both play and sing, it is also very interesting from a musical composition perspective.

Another interesting aspect of this tune is that the first note is not the keynote (F in key of F), or a note from key chord (F, A, C notes in key of F). Rather, this song starts with E note, harmonized with C7 chord. If you were to sing this tune, it would help to play C7 chord at end of introduction, in order to hear the E note before singing.

Given the number of chords and challenging melody, this song is well suited for intermediate guitar players.

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Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing: Fingerstyle Guitar, key of F

Here is my fingerstyle arrangement of this hymn. Like the single note melody, this piece is also in the key of F.

I raised the melody by one octave on the guitar in order to fit bass notes, chords and harmonies underneath. This arrangement uses a wide note range across the fretboard from fret 1 to 10. This arrangement is based on a SATB / keyboard arrangement from the New Century Hymnal, with some adjustments for the guitar. Thus, it is a hymn-like arrangement for the guitar.

This instrumental is well suited for intermediate and advanced guitar players.

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We Shall Overcome: Guitar melody, key of C

We Shall Overcome
Spiritual hymn, protest song, Civil Rights anthem

This straightforward arrangement is in the key of C, which is a singable key. This song is a great choice for group singing.

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