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 …
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 …
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, …
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, …
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 …
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 …