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847. Lift Every Voice and Sing

1 Lift ev'ry 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 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 till victory is won.

2 Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast'ning 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 people 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,
Till now we stand at last
Where the bright gleam of our bright star is cast.

3 God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
You who have brought us thus far on the way;
You who have by your 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 you;
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine
of the world, we forget you;
Shadowed beneath your hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God, true to our native land.

Text Information
First Line: Lift ev'ry voice and sing
Title: Lift Every Voice and Sing
Author: James W. Johnson, 1871-1938
Meter: Irregular
Language: English
Publication Date: 2015
Topic: Praise
Tune Information
Name: ANTHEM
Composer: J. Rosamund Johnson, 1873-1954
Meter: Irregular
Key: G Major or modal



Media
More media are available on the text authority and tune authority pages.

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