Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is a gospel of Afro American origin inspired by the ascension into the heavens of Prophet Elijah as told in the Bible (2 Kings 2:11). The song was written in 1865 by Wallis Willis and was …
Afro-American folk
He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands
He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands is an Afro-American traditional gospel by unknown author. It was first included in a 1927 collection called Spirituals Triumphant, Old and New. The song has become popular worldwide and adapted in many …
Lift Every Voice and Sing
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a poem composed by American writer and human rights activist James Weldon Johnson. It was first recited in public on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, on February 12, 1900. It was later set …
Go Tell it On The Mountain
Go Tell it on The Mountain is one of the most popular African-American spiritual songs and Christmas carols of all time. It was first compiled by John Wesley Work Jr, the first African-American folk collector, in around 1865. The lyrics …
Kumbaya
“Kumbaya”. also known as “Come By Here”. is a song that is deeply linked to African American culture. Its exact origins are disputed but it was sung in the lowland areas of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. It was first …
I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
The origins of this American folk song are quite uncertain. “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” rhyme can be tracked back to a similar old African American folk song around 1894, about working on a Mississippi River levee. The final …