Lift Every Voice And Sing - John Rosamond Johnson - viola

For the fourth of July this year, I wanted to play this piece, a hymn popularized during the Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th century and often referred to as "The Black National Anthem". The song was written to accompany lyrics written by John's brother, James Weldon Johnson, and I think the cry to march on till victory is won remains true in our world today. Liberty and equal rights for all remain not just elusive, but are actively being challenged in our world, and we can not rest in vigilance or action.
Lift every voice and sing,
'Til 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 'til victory is won.
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 our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
'Til 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 has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has 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,
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.

[@Freedomancer111]

Beautiful simply beautiful, thank you❤

[@eyrieowl]

Thank you so much, you're so welcome!