WE SHALL OVERCOME - chords and comments


First of April - no joke - this year 2022, a very famous song came to me, with the ongoing probably worldwide encounter and the global pandemic hunting the human race. I've never sung this before, because everybody else did and have been doing for several reasons during my lifetime ... and way back.
The origin of the song has been an object for discussion and lawsuits ever since recording was made possible. In 2017, all claims fell to the ground, all versions of both melody and lyrics were settled public domain, and free for adaption.
Pete Seeger, good guy, did NOT write it. He never claimed it, either. But he was the first one to make it a common protest song against prejudice, segregation and human greed. The Civil Rights Movement caught it, and the most probably original gospel song, derived from classic compositions, became a multipurpose standard. Maybe it's a dream. Maybe it will be fullfilled when the last human beings are about to perish ... "we'll die hand in hand" ...
I've collected the five most used first lines, and put it together my way. It is best performed a capella, or in community with modest harmonies, like Joan Baez did in front of 300.000 in August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial. We may live in hope, but approaching the end of the line on Earth, I'm not really enthusiastic.
G        C   G Em
we shall overcome
G        C   G Em
we shall overcome
G        C D7 Em  A7   D ... D7
we shall overcome some day
    C          Bm ... G7
oh deep in my heart
C D7     E7
I do believe
Bm       C    Em   D7   G
we shall overcome some day

This song suits well medley with another famous "protest song" of the sixties; actually written by Pete Seeger: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, only adjust it a bit up-tempo. Sorry to say; this one also matches the current world situation. When will they ever learn?
G major
G
G seventh
G7
C major
C
D major
D
D seventh
D7
A seventh
A7
E seventh
E7
E minor
Em
B minor
Bm