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Lift Every Voice and Sing: Selected Poems
This selection of more than forty poems from a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance includes both uncompromising indictments of racial injustice and celebrations of the triumphs of African-Americans.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
3 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
James Weldon Johnson
132 books132 followersJames Weldon Johnson was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is remembered best for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and collections of folklore. He was also one of the first African-American professors at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 30, 2013
And to think I was going to pass on buying this book at my library booksale. I was inspired to read this poetry collection as Maya Angelou mentions one of the poems in her autobiography.The poems cover a relatively wide range of topics, from slavery to racism, love to death. Some poems use very shocking imagery and elicit visceral emotions, others are even slightly funny. Weldon Johnson's command of the English language was definitely on display, as well as were the poems he wrote in the "Negro dialect" (his own words.The poem's exhortating nature (encouraging the people to overcome racism, feelings of inadequacy etc.) is probably why people like Angelou especially loved this poet. I can tell these poems had an even bigger impact on African-Americans when they were written over 100 years ago but what I find to be more spectacular is how much power the words still hold. I'm definitely glad I own a copy, will be re-reading this in the future.
March 27, 2021
"Shadowed beneath thy hand
may we forever stand
true to our God, true to our native land."
This poem, this hymn, this anthem. I myself learned it in primary school as a boy. It was a hymn written originally as a poem to celebrate the birthday of Abraham Lincoln in 1900. It was later set to music by the author's brother and became a mainstay in segregated African-American schools (or in my case post-integrated/re-segregated mostly Black schools) for years. I confess that I knew this song many years before I knew (or cared to know) the Star-Spangled Banner. The lines of each verse are divided in a narrative form of 4(a)-2(b)-3(c). This song is so powerful and filled with meaning that I really feel it stands out, then and now, as a powerful anthem of perseverance through will and faith and I will now try to give my impressions of the anthem itself verse by verse.
"Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heav'n 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."
This the (naturally) most known verse of the hymn, is sort of an ode liberty itself as the second line says. It asked for reflection on the troubles of years past (many families who sung this in 1900 would have still had living memories of slavery in America); It says to sing of the hope still in the present time and I notice that it is careful by using the word hope instead of assurance, or security, or freedom/equality. Then we are told to march on until we realize that hope even when it appears to be sunshine on the horizon; I consider this verse as being the universal appeal or the universally-applied verse of the anthem.
"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 a path through the blood of the slaughtered
Out of the gloomy past till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast."
This verse gets down to more serious business. The part in bold especially strikes me when I read it. What do you have to go through to know the loss of hope before it is born? and the next two lines ask "are we not still on the precipice of our immediate ancestors?" (I take this as a nod to the American Civil War, this was written to commemorate Lincoln.) The narrator (and us as by now we are all included in the narrative) recounts the struggle to freedom through a path of tears and blood. The ending lines here reassures us that we are nearly toward the goal we have and others have died for; this verse is the most specific to African Americans (or people of African descent from the Americas generally).
"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 on the path we pray
Lest our feet stray from the places oh god where we met thee
Lest our heart 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."
This last verse is a direct appeal to God to forever keep "us" (audience and narrator) on the "path" of liberty. Lines 5-6 warns that if this does not happen we forget "thee" and more likely are mission for liberty/equality. And of course the last two lines that I quote at the beginning of the review also makes me think, the last phrase in particular. When Johnson writes "native land" is he talking about Africa, America, or wherever the audience is from? Is it even a place that he references or is it a concept. This "native land" could be equality, liberty, justice, enlightenment, etc. I just always liked the subtle ambiguity in that line. In another sense, you could say that this whole verse incapulates the experience of the African diaspora.
So as I have said before if the USA ever thought to replace the Star-Spangled Banner as our national anthem it wouldn't hurt to take a look at this anthem.
may we forever stand
true to our God, true to our native land."
This poem, this hymn, this anthem. I myself learned it in primary school as a boy. It was a hymn written originally as a poem to celebrate the birthday of Abraham Lincoln in 1900. It was later set to music by the author's brother and became a mainstay in segregated African-American schools (or in my case post-integrated/re-segregated mostly Black schools) for years. I confess that I knew this song many years before I knew (or cared to know) the Star-Spangled Banner. The lines of each verse are divided in a narrative form of 4(a)-2(b)-3(c). This song is so powerful and filled with meaning that I really feel it stands out, then and now, as a powerful anthem of perseverance through will and faith and I will now try to give my impressions of the anthem itself verse by verse.
"Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heav'n 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."
This the (naturally) most known verse of the hymn, is sort of an ode liberty itself as the second line says. It asked for reflection on the troubles of years past (many families who sung this in 1900 would have still had living memories of slavery in America); It says to sing of the hope still in the present time and I notice that it is careful by using the word hope instead of assurance, or security, or freedom/equality. Then we are told to march on until we realize that hope even when it appears to be sunshine on the horizon; I consider this verse as being the universal appeal or the universally-applied verse of the anthem.
"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 a path through the blood of the slaughtered
Out of the gloomy past till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast."
This verse gets down to more serious business. The part in bold especially strikes me when I read it. What do you have to go through to know the loss of hope before it is born? and the next two lines ask "are we not still on the precipice of our immediate ancestors?" (I take this as a nod to the American Civil War, this was written to commemorate Lincoln.) The narrator (and us as by now we are all included in the narrative) recounts the struggle to freedom through a path of tears and blood. The ending lines here reassures us that we are nearly toward the goal we have and others have died for; this verse is the most specific to African Americans (or people of African descent from the Americas generally).
"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 on the path we pray
Lest our feet stray from the places oh god where we met thee
Lest our heart 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."
This last verse is a direct appeal to God to forever keep "us" (audience and narrator) on the "path" of liberty. Lines 5-6 warns that if this does not happen we forget "thee" and more likely are mission for liberty/equality. And of course the last two lines that I quote at the beginning of the review also makes me think, the last phrase in particular. When Johnson writes "native land" is he talking about Africa, America, or wherever the audience is from? Is it even a place that he references or is it a concept. This "native land" could be equality, liberty, justice, enlightenment, etc. I just always liked the subtle ambiguity in that line. In another sense, you could say that this whole verse incapulates the experience of the African diaspora.
So as I have said before if the USA ever thought to replace the Star-Spangled Banner as our national anthem it wouldn't hurt to take a look at this anthem.
August 4, 2025
❤️
Picked this tidy volume off the shelf at Black Pearl Books in Austin, TX. (Black-owned! Cozy! Well laid out! Highly recommend!) There's certainly standouts, but this is one of the closest poetry collections I've come across that is the equivalent of a "no-skip album." Highly recommend.
Standouts:
-"Saint Peter Relates an Incident of the Resurrection Day"
-"O Black and Unknown Bards"
-"We to America"
-"Mother Night"
-"My City"
-"The Glory of the Day Was in Her Face"
-"Life"
-"Deep in the Quiet Wood"
-"Prayer at Sunrise"
-"Vashti"
-"The Greatest of These is War"
-"A Plantation Bacchanal"
-"Answer to Prayer"
-"A Banjo Song"
-"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
- "Beauty Never Old"
Picked this tidy volume off the shelf at Black Pearl Books in Austin, TX. (Black-owned! Cozy! Well laid out! Highly recommend!) There's certainly standouts, but this is one of the closest poetry collections I've come across that is the equivalent of a "no-skip album." Highly recommend.
Standouts:
-"Saint Peter Relates an Incident of the Resurrection Day"
-"O Black and Unknown Bards"
-"We to America"
-"Mother Night"
-"My City"
-"The Glory of the Day Was in Her Face"
-"Life"
-"Deep in the Quiet Wood"
-"Prayer at Sunrise"
-"Vashti"
-"The Greatest of These is War"
-"A Plantation Bacchanal"
-"Answer to Prayer"
-"A Banjo Song"
-"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
- "Beauty Never Old"
October 24, 2019
"Lift every 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.
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 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,
Till 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 hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast 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."
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.
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 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,
Till 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 hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast 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."
December 31, 2018
Beautifully illustrated! The words to the African-American anthem are brought to life through the gorgeous artwork of Jan Spivey Gilchrist. It's hard to read without a lift in your voice!
January 1, 2021
This collections of poems by the poet John Weldon Johnson had a variety of styles. Some poems I didn’t care for because of the strange theme (“The Greatest of These Is War” and “Girl of Fifteen”) or pessimistic message (“Life” or “Ghosts of the Old Year”), but even they were very well done. I really enjoyed the poems written in traditional dialect, especially the love poem called “Ma Lady’s Lips Am Like De Honey.” They told a story, and it was fun to hear the unfamiliar phrasing and pronunciation of words. One poem, “The Young Warrior,” was particularly touching as a son asked his mother for his mother to pray for him in specific ways as he went to fight for his cause. These poems are really worth reading.
September 3, 2023
I read this to my students, not realizing that at some point books like this would possibly be on the banned list. It was, I felt important to study the books of black authors and illustrators, black inventors, important figures in American history of black Americans for all my students. I didn't feel and still don't that until we understand the importance of all the people who have made this country what it is, that we will never be able to release the hold systemic racism has over us.
April 11, 2019
This book only has about three colors in it, but it is gorgeous. This is definitely a collectible item, with the words of the African American national anthem set to these really striking images. It also provides some history about the song, as well as full sheet music for it in the back. A must-have for kids' shelves!
April 15, 2019
Genre: historical fiction ( diverse perspective)
Grades: 1-4
When introducing different cultures this book would be a great one to get the ball rolling. It is described as a Native American National Anthem which they sang back during the trying times. The illustrations evoke many emotions and are very colorful and draw you in.
Grades: 1-4
When introducing different cultures this book would be a great one to get the ball rolling. It is described as a Native American National Anthem which they sang back during the trying times. The illustrations evoke many emotions and are very colorful and draw you in.
June 21, 2023
“…I have smitten old and young.
Mouths of the helpless old moaning for bread, I have filled with dust;
And I have laughed to see a crying babe tug at the shriveling breast
Of its mother, dead and cold.
I have heard the cries and prayers of men go up to a tearless sky,
And fall back on an earth of ashes;…”
Mouths of the helpless old moaning for bread, I have filled with dust;
And I have laughed to see a crying babe tug at the shriveling breast
Of its mother, dead and cold.
I have heard the cries and prayers of men go up to a tearless sky,
And fall back on an earth of ashes;…”
December 6, 2016
This book has a really good marriage of picture and text. It depicts the difficulties the African American people faced in American history. It gives hope as these challengers were overcome and the text is a song of jubilee.
June 24, 2020
Cool to see how Elizabeth Catlett's linoprints work to illustrate the song. The official captions for the linos are not at all what the song lyrics say, but they are about Black people, both famous and not.
May 11, 2022
Goodreads seems to have mashed together multiple books titled Lift Every Voice and Sing under a single heading-- this review pertains to the picture book illustrated with iconic photographs. I like the mix of historic and intimate photos here. Highly recommend
May 14, 2022
James Weldon Johnson's beautiful song is illuminated with poignance and celebration by Bryan Collier. It's been out for some years and I hope everyone has a chance to read and share. I was fortunate that someone donated it to the used bookstore where I work, one run by all volunteers!
March 25, 2017
The lyrics to the famous song set down in an illustrated picture book. It's a nice tribute to the song. Also included at the end are the sheet music and a brief afterward describing the song's origins.
January 23, 2019
LOVE THIS EDITION!
January 25, 2019
This combination of art and song/poetry is so powerful.
July 13, 2020
Picture book with large illustrations to go with the text of the song. Lead sheet of tune and lyrics at the end.
January 27, 2021
Beautifully illustrated. We familiarized ourselves with the African American national anthem in honor of Martin Luther King Day.
April 10, 2021
Beautiful.
Bedtime story, 4/9/21
Bedtime story, 4/9/21
December 5, 2023
celebrating, African-American heritage, women, men, promise for future, roads through difficult times
January 16, 2025
Some of the most beautiful poetry ever written. This book has opened up my curiosities.
June 19, 2024
amazing that someone from a community that has been so continuously let down by the us could write a poem that manages to be so patriotic! but no, this is beautiful
Read
December 12, 2021Bryan Collier illustrates the famous poem written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900 to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's birthday. "Lift Every Voice and Sing" has become the National Anthem for African Americans in the struggle for equality. Powerful images and and metaphors throughout the book keep readers engaged, energized, and hopeful about a bright future of a more equitable place we all live in.
May 28, 2023
Will always be our anthem. The illustrations are awesome. A great book and song to pass along to the next generation. A way to keep hope alive.
February 24, 2016
This picture book and its back-story are interesting from several perspectives:
Lift Every Voice and Sing was written by James Weldon Johnson and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, who had studied at the New England Conservatory of Music.
It was written and composed for schoolchildren to sing at a celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday in 1900. At the time, both brothers were teachers in the (segregated) public school system in their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, to which they had returned after college.
I don’t know about the song’s current status, but for many years black people considered it as the Negro National Anthem.
The strong, expressive linocuts chosen to illustrate this book come from a larger collection of linocuts created by the distinguished black artist Elizabeth Catlett from a Julius Rosenwald Foundation grant that she was awarded in the 1940s. It’s impressive how well her prints illustrate the words of the song, considering that they were created independently of the song.
Lift Every Voice and Sing was written by James Weldon Johnson and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, who had studied at the New England Conservatory of Music.
It was written and composed for schoolchildren to sing at a celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday in 1900. At the time, both brothers were teachers in the (segregated) public school system in their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, to which they had returned after college.
I don’t know about the song’s current status, but for many years black people considered it as the Negro National Anthem.
The strong, expressive linocuts chosen to illustrate this book come from a larger collection of linocuts created by the distinguished black artist Elizabeth Catlett from a Julius Rosenwald Foundation grant that she was awarded in the 1940s. It’s impressive how well her prints illustrate the words of the song, considering that they were created independently of the song.
Want to read
November 19, 2015Title: Lift every voice and sing
Author: Bryan Collier
Illustrator: James Weldon Johnson
Publisher: Amistad Press
Date: October 16, 2007
Genre: Poetry
I would use this book for a social studies unit plan. This poem would be awesome for adding children’s literature into the lesson. I also like that it is poetry, so it will be a smooth and easy read, and not overwhelming.
Author: Bryan Collier
Illustrator: James Weldon Johnson
Publisher: Amistad Press
Date: October 16, 2007
Genre: Poetry
I would use this book for a social studies unit plan. This poem would be awesome for adding children’s literature into the lesson. I also like that it is poetry, so it will be a smooth and easy read, and not overwhelming.
January 26, 2010
This book contains relevant historical black and while photos to go with the lyrics of this powerful song. All of the photos are well done, and parents should prepare for a photo of a slave's scarred back.
No bells or whistles, but excellent in a simple way.
No bells or whistles, but excellent in a simple way.
April 23, 2010
This is a great book! Its a spin on the song "Lift Every Voice". In this book it discusses the struggles African Americans experience during the Civil Rights movement. It is a great book to read during a Civil Rights Unit.
January 28, 2016
The illustrations were stunning. As I turned each page, I looked for the subtle silhouette of the child repeated in the landscape. While I viewed the illustrations, I pulled up the song and listened.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews