traditional
First of April - no joke - this year 2022, a very famous song came to me, with the world encountering a global pandemic hunting the human race. I've never sung this before, because everybody else did and have been doing that for several reasons during all 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 adaptions.
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 with assistance from public and 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.
we shall overcome
we shall overcome
we shall overcome some day
oh deep in my heart
I do believe
we shall overcome some day
we'll walk hand in hand
we'll walk hand in hand
we'll walk hand in hand some day
oh deep in my heart
I do believe
we shall overcome some day
we shall live in peace
we shall live in peace
we shall live in peace some day
oh deep in my heart
I do believe
we shall overcome some day
we are not afraid
we are not afraid
we are not afraid today
oh deep in my heart
I do believe
we shall overcome some day
truth will make us free
truth will make us free
truth will make us free someday
oh deep in my heart
I do believe
we shall overcome some day
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
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
