LiftEveryVoiceandSingAfricanAmericanAnthem

1900

WordsbyJamesWeldonJohnsonMusicbyJ.RosamondJohnson

(GMajor•LowVoice)EditedbyMarkClagueandAndrewKuster

LiftEveryVoiceandSing,1900LyricbyJamesWeldonJohnson;MusicbyJ.RosamondJohnson

HistoricalNoteOftenreferredtoasthe“AfricanAmericanNationalAnthem”or“BlackNationalAnthem,”LiftEveryVoiceandSingfeatureswordsbyJamesWeldonJohnson(1871–1938)settomusicbyhisbrotherJ.RosamondJohnson(1873–1954).

Thereareconflictingdetailsaboutthesong’screation.Somesourcesreportthatthetextprecededthemusicbyfiveyears.Inhisautobiography,AlongThisWay(1933),howeverJamesWeldonJohnsonexplainsthatthesongwasinspiredbytwothings.First,JohnsonadmiredapoemaboutAbrahamLincolnwrittenbyaSouthernwhiteman,butfeltthat“therewasyettobewrittenagreatpoemonLincoln,theexpressionofaNegro”(153).AskedtoofferanaddressforacelebrationofLincoln’sBirthdayin1900,Johnsonbegantoworkonsuchagrandpoem.Inconversationwithhisbrotherandsongwritingpartner,however,thepoembecameasongtobeperformedby500blackschoolchildren,includingmanyfromtheEdwinM.StantonSchoolinJacksonville,Florida,whereJamesWeldonJohnsonservedasprincipal.

After“grindingout”thewordsofthefirststanzawithpenonpaper,thepoetdescribesthe“feverishecstasy”ofinspirationasthe“spiritofthepoemhadtakenhold.”Hecompletedthethreeversesquickly,workingnowwithoutpenandpaper.Asthelyriccameintofocusinhismind,thepoet“couldnotkeepbackthetears.”ForJohnson,thelyricexpressed“theAmericanNegro,historicallyandspiritually”(154–55).

“AssoonasRosamondhadfinishedhisnoblesetting,”JamesWeldonreports,“hesentacopyofthemanuscripttoourpublishersinNewYork.”Copiesweremadeforthechorusand“thesongwastaughttothechildrenandsungveryeffectivelyatthecelebration.”TheJohnsonbrotherssoonmovedtoNewYork,joiningtheartistsandintellectualsatthecenteroftheHarlemRenaissance.Henotedthatthesong“passedoutofourminds,”butthattheschoolchildrenofJacksonville“keptsingingthesong.”Overthenexttwodecades,thesongtookrootintheblackcommunity.It“wasbeingsunginschoolsandchurchesandonspecialoccasionsthroughouttheSouth,”Johnsonwrites(155).

In1919,theNationalAssociationfortheAdvancementofColoredPeople(NAACP),forwhomJamesWeldonJohnsonservedasexecutivesecretary,adoptedthesongasthe“Negronationalhymn.”Thequestionof

whethertocallthesongthe“nationalanthem”ora“hymn”hascreatedperiodiccontroversy.ThesongwasrecentlyintroducedtoanewgenerationbyBeyoncéaspartofher2018CoachellasetanditsliverecordingHomecoming(2019).

Despiteitspopularity,thesheetmusichereisnotwidelyavailable.Thefinancialinterestofitspublishercertainlylimiteddistributionineconomicallychallengedcommunities.Johnsonreportedthat“intravelinground,IhavecommonlyfoundprintedortypewrittencopiesofthewordspastedinthebacksofhymnalsandthesongbooksusedinSundayschools,Y.M.C.A’sandsimilarinstitutions;andIthinkthatisthemethodbywhichitgetsitswidestcirculation”(155).Johnsonevenheardit“ferventlysung”bywhitestudentsatBrynMawrCollegeinhonorofaspeechhewasgivingonthecampus.

PerformanceSuggestionsAswithanyanthemitisbothtraditionalandconsideredanexpressionofrespecttostandwhilesinging“LiftEveryVoiceandSing.”SourcesThiseditionbasedonthecommercialsheetmusiceditionpublishedin1921bytheEdwardB.MarksMusicCorporation(NewYork).UseThesong“LiftEveryVoiceandSing”isfirmlyinthepublicdomain.Thiseditionisofferedfreeofchargeforeducationalorcommunityuseunderacreativecommonslicense.Forotheruses,pleasecontactinfo@starspangledmusic.organdpleasesharenewswithusofyourperformances.SupportStarSpangledMusicEditionsPleaseconsideratax-deductibledonationtotheStarSpangledMusicFoundationtosupportthiseffortandpurchasetheStarSpangledSongbook—aspiralboundcollectionofalloursongeditionswithexpandededitorialcommentary.TheStarSpangledMusicFoundationisa501(c)(3)non-profitorganization.Seewww.starspanglemusic.org/donate.Questionsorsuggestions?Pleaseemailtoeditions@starspanglemusic.org©©CreativeCommonsLicense2014StarSpangledMusicFoundationstarspangledmusic.org

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WordsJames Weldon Johnson(1871–1938)

Creative Commons Copyright 2014 Star Spangled Music Foundation, p. 1

Lift Every Voice and SingAfrican-American Anthem

This score a minor third lower than the source.1900

MusicJ. Rosamond Johnson

(1873–1954)

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3Lift Every Voice and Sing

Editions-Cover-LiftEveryVoiceEditions-TEXT-LiftEveryVoiceLiftEveryVoice-G (low voice) - edited