Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Lyrics

Refrain
Swing low sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home
Swing low sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home

I looked over Jordan and what did I see
Coming for to carry me home
A band of angels coming after me
Coming for to carry me home

Refrain
If you get there before I do
Coming for to carry me home
Tell all my friends I’m coming too
Coming for to carry me home

Refrain
I’m sometimes up and sometimes down
Coming for to carry me home
But still my soul feels heavenly bound
Coming for to carry me home

Refrain
The brightest day that I can say
Coming for to carry me home
When Jesus washed my sins away
Coming for to carry me home

Refrain

The song has become popular worldwide and adapted in many languages after it was recorded by English singer Laurie London, 1957-1958.

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands Lyrics

He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got the little bitty baby in his hands,
He’s got the little bitty baby in his hands,
He’s got the little bitty baby in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole wide* world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got you and me brother in his hands,
He’s got you and me brother in his hands,
He’s got you and me brother in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got the mountains and the rivers in his hands,
He’s got the mountains and the rivers in his hands,
He’s got the mountains and the rivers in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got the wind and the rain in his hands,
He’s got the wind and the rain in his hands,
He’s got the wind and the rain in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got everybody here in his hands,
He’s got everybody here in his hands,
He’s got everybody here in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands.

It was first recited in public on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, on February 12, 1900. It was later set up on music by author’s brother J. Rosamond Johnson.

Usually sung on the Juneteenth, the day we celebrate the end of slavery in the USA, and also on Thanksgiving as a symbol of freedom and hope, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is considered the “Black national anthem” and the Freedom song.

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” Lyrics

Lift ev’ry voice and sing,
‘Til 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 the faith that the dark past has taught 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 ’til victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
‘Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.

The lyrics refer to the Nativity scene but in the 1960s another version of the song called “Tell in On The Mountain” about the civil rights struggle as well. The song became a hit in 1964. Another version that referenced the Civil Rights Movemebt was recorded by The Wailers in 1970.

“Go Tell it On The Mountain” Lyrics

Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born!

While shepherds kept their watching
O’er silent flocks by night
Behold throughout the heavens
There shone a holy light

Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born!

The shepherds feared and trembled
When lo! Above the Earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Savior’s birth

Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born!

Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born
And God sent us salvation
That blessed Christmas morn

It was first recorded in 1926 in the Gullah dialect by Robert Winslow Gordon. The song gained popularity all over America and even internationally and later it has been used as a campfire song and summer camps.

Kumbaya Meaning

Originally the song was an appeal to God to come and help the people in need. Kumbaya is a call for divine intervention against oppression. The song represents strength and power and a sense of community and shared struggles.

The song was later used by protesters but it did not lose its meaning whether it was used by students protesting corruption in Gary, IN in 1966 or environmental groups in Middletown, PA in 1980.

Lately the song became a political one being mocked by certain groups, although the song is not a political one at its core.

Kumbaya Lyrics

Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Oh, Lord, kumbaya (oh, Lord, kumbaya)

Someone’s cryin’, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s cryin’, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s cryin’, Lord, kumbaya
Oh, Lord, kumbaya (oh, Lord, kumbaya)

Someone’s singin’, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s singin’, Lord, kumbaya
Someone’s singin’, Lord, kumbaya
Oh, Lord, kumbaya (oh, Lord, kumbaya)

Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Oh, Lord, kumbaya (oh, Lord, kumbaya)

“I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” Lyrics

I’ve been workin’ on the railroad
All the livelong day
I’ve been workin’ on the railroad
Just to pass the time away
Can’t you hear the whistle blowin’
Rise up so early in the morn
Can’t you hear the captain shouting
“Dinah, blow your horn”.

Dinah won’t you blow
Dinah won’t you blow
Dinah won’t you blow your horn
Dinah won’t you blow
Dinah won’t you blow
Dinah won’t you blow your horn.

Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah
Someone’s in the kitchen I know
Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah
Strummin’ on the old banjo,
Singin’ “Fe Fi Fiddly I Oh,
Fe Fi Fiddly I Oh,
Fe Fi Fiddly I Oh,”
Strummin’ on the old banjo.