This is an old song that has been sung in the United States since the beginning of the 20th Century. The artist singing this version, Pete Seeger, died at the age of 94 on January 27, 2014. He was a legendary folk singer. Many of the songs he sang were used in protests that moved the United States forward. "We Shall Overcome" became an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement. It is a beautiful song that expresses hope for a better future.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Lift Every Voice and Sing
This is the "Black National Anthem". It is a song that African-Americans know very well. I had never heard it until someone suggested it to me for Black History Month. I wish it were our National Anthem.
The video shows many of the struggles of African-Americans in the United States as well as unbelievable triumphs.
Lift Every Voice and sing till earth and heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of liberty
Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening 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 sum of our new day begun
Let us march on till 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 which tears has been watered
We have come, treading out 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
GOD of our weary years, GOD of our silent tears
Thou Who has brought us thus far on the way
Thou Who hast by Thy might, led us into the light
Keep us for-e-ver in the path we pray
Lest our feet, stray from the places our GOD where me 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
You can learn more about the history and the meaning of this song here.
The video shows many of the struggles of African-Americans in the United States as well as unbelievable triumphs.
Lift Every Voice and sing till earth and heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of liberty
Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening 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 sum of our new day begun
Let us march on till 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 which tears has been watered
We have come, treading out 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
GOD of our weary years, GOD of our silent tears
Thou Who has brought us thus far on the way
Thou Who hast by Thy might, led us into the light
Keep us for-e-ver in the path we pray
Lest our feet, stray from the places our GOD where me 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
You can learn more about the history and the meaning of this song here.
Don't Stop Believing
Here is Journey singing "Don't Stop Believing" live in Tokyo.
Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere
A singer in a smoky room
The smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people, living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night
Working hard to get my fill, everybody wants a thrill
Paying anything to roll the dice just one more time
Some will win, some will lose, some were born to sing the blues
Oh the movie never ends, it goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people, living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night
Don't stop believing
Hold on to that feeling
Streetlight people
Don't stop believing
Hold on to that feeling
Streetlight people
Here is the cast of Glee singing Don't Stop Believing on the British show, the X-Factor.
Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere
A singer in a smoky room
The smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people, living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night
Working hard to get my fill, everybody wants a thrill
Paying anything to roll the dice just one more time
Some will win, some will lose, some were born to sing the blues
Oh the movie never ends, it goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people, living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night
Don't stop believing
Hold on to that feeling
Streetlight people
Don't stop believing
Hold on to that feeling
Streetlight people
Here is the cast of Glee singing Don't Stop Believing on the British show, the X-Factor.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Midnight Train to Georgia
L.A. proved too much for the man,
So he's leavin' the life he's come to know,
He said he's goin' back to find
Ooh, what's left of his world,
The world he left behind
Not so long ago.
He's leaving,
On that midnight train to Georgia,
And he's goin' back
To a simpler place and time.
And I'll be with him
On that midnight train to Georgia,
I'd rather live in his world
Than live without him in mine.
He kept dreamin'
That someday he'd be a star.
But he sure found out the hard way
That dreams don't always come true.
So he pawned all his hopes
and he even sold his old car
Bought a one way ticket
To the life he once knew,
Oh yes he did,
He said he would
Be leavin
On that midnight train to Georgia,
And he's goin' back
To a simpler place and time.
And I'll be with him
On that midnight train to Georgia,
I'd rather live in his world
Than live without him in mine.
Go, gonna board, gonna board,
Gonna board the midnight train.
Gotta go, gonna board
Gonna board
Gonna board the midnight train
(repeat, fade)
You can learn more about the story behind this song here.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
New York, New York
Here is one of the most famous songs about New York City sung by Frank Sinatra.
Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it
New York, New York
These vagabond shoes
Are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it
New York, New York
I want to wake up in a city that doesn't sleep
And find I'm king of the hill
Top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'll make a brand new start of it
In old New York
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you
New York, New York
New York, New York
I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps
And find I'm A number one
Top of the list
King of the hill
A number one
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'm gonna make a brand new start of it
In old New York
Aaaaaand if I can make it there
I'm gonna make it anywhere
It's up to you
New York, New York, New York
New York!
Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it
New York, New York
These vagabond shoes
Are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it
New York, New York
I want to wake up in a city that doesn't sleep
And find I'm king of the hill
Top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'll make a brand new start of it
In old New York
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you
New York, New York
New York, New York
I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps
And find I'm A number one
Top of the list
King of the hill
A number one
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'm gonna make a brand new start of it
In old New York
Aaaaaand if I can make it there
I'm gonna make it anywhere
It's up to you
New York, New York, New York
New York!
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Empire State of Mind
Here is Empire State of Mind *featuring Alicia Keyes* - this is the rap version with Alicia Keyes only singing part of the song.
Yeah
[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
Yeah I'm out that Brooklyn, now I'm down in TriBeCa
Right next to Deniro, but I'll be hood forever
I'm the new Sinatra, and since I made it here
I can make it anywhere, yeah, they love me everywhere
I used to cop in Harlem, all of my Dominicano's
Right there up on Broadway, pull me back to that McDonald's
Took it to my stashbox, 560 State St.
Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons with them Pastry's
Cruisin' down 8th St., off white Lexus
Drivin' so slow, but BK is from Texas
Me, I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie
Now I live on Billboard and I brought my boys with me
Say what's up to Ty-Ty, still sippin' mai tai's
Sittin' courtside, Knicks & Nets give me high five
Nigga I be Spike'd out, I could trip a referee
Tell by my attitude that I'm most definitely from....
[Chorus: Alicia Keys]
New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothin' you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York,
New York
[Verse 2: Jay-Z]
Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game
Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous then a Yankee can
You should know I bleed blue, but I ain't a Crip though
But I got a gang of niggas walkin' with my clique though
Welcome to the melting pot, corners where we sellin' rock
Afrika Bambataa shit, home of the hip-hop
Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back
For foreigners it ain't pretty act like they forgot how to act
8 million stories, out there in it naked
City is a pity, half of y'all won't make it
Me, I got a plug, Special Ed "I Got It Made"
If Jesus payin' LeBron, I'm payin' Dwyane Wade
Three dice Cee-lo, three Card Marley
Labor Day Parade, rest in peace Bob Marley
Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade
Long live the King yo, I'm from the Empire State that's
[Chorus]
[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
Lights is blinding, girls need blinders
So they can step out of bounds quick, the sidelines is
Lined with casualties, who sip to life casually
Then gradually become worse, don't bite the apple Eve
Caught up in the in-crowd, now you're in style
And in the winter gets cold, in Vogue with your skin out
City of sin, it's a pity on a whim
Good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them
Mommy took a bus trip, now she got her bust out
Everybody ride her, just like a bus route
Hail Mary to the city, you're a virgin
And Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church end
Came here for school, graduated to the high life
Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight
MDMA got you feelin' like a champion
The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien
[Chorus]
[Bridge: Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city
Street lights, big dreams, all lookin' pretty
No place in the world that could compare
Put your lighters in the air
Everybody say "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah"
[Chorus]
Go to Rap Genius if you want to learn more about the lyrics of this song.
Here is Alicia Keyes and Jay-Z singing Empire State of Mind live.
Here is Alicia Keyes singing Empire State of Mind II (no rap)
Oooooohh New York x2
Grew up in a town that is famous as the place of movie scenes
Noise was always loud, there are sirens all around and the streets are mean
If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere, that's what they say
Seeing my face in lights or my name on marquees found down on Broadway
Even if it ain’t all it seems, I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York, New York, New York!
On the avenue, there ain't never a curfew, ladies work so hard
Such a melting pot, on the corner selling rock, preachers pray to God
Hail a gypsy-cab, takes me down from Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge
Some will sleep tonight with a hunger far more than an empty fridge
I'm gonna make it by any means, I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These street will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York, New York, New York!
One hand in the air for the big city,
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty
No place in the world that can compare
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
In New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These street will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York!
Yeah
[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
Yeah I'm out that Brooklyn, now I'm down in TriBeCa
Right next to Deniro, but I'll be hood forever
I'm the new Sinatra, and since I made it here
I can make it anywhere, yeah, they love me everywhere
I used to cop in Harlem, all of my Dominicano's
Right there up on Broadway, pull me back to that McDonald's
Took it to my stashbox, 560 State St.
Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons with them Pastry's
Cruisin' down 8th St., off white Lexus
Drivin' so slow, but BK is from Texas
Me, I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie
Now I live on Billboard and I brought my boys with me
Say what's up to Ty-Ty, still sippin' mai tai's
Sittin' courtside, Knicks & Nets give me high five
Nigga I be Spike'd out, I could trip a referee
Tell by my attitude that I'm most definitely from....
[Chorus: Alicia Keys]
New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothin' you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York,
New York
[Verse 2: Jay-Z]
Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game
Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous then a Yankee can
You should know I bleed blue, but I ain't a Crip though
But I got a gang of niggas walkin' with my clique though
Welcome to the melting pot, corners where we sellin' rock
Afrika Bambataa shit, home of the hip-hop
Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back
For foreigners it ain't pretty act like they forgot how to act
8 million stories, out there in it naked
City is a pity, half of y'all won't make it
Me, I got a plug, Special Ed "I Got It Made"
If Jesus payin' LeBron, I'm payin' Dwyane Wade
Three dice Cee-lo, three Card Marley
Labor Day Parade, rest in peace Bob Marley
Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade
Long live the King yo, I'm from the Empire State that's
[Chorus]
[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
Lights is blinding, girls need blinders
So they can step out of bounds quick, the sidelines is
Lined with casualties, who sip to life casually
Then gradually become worse, don't bite the apple Eve
Caught up in the in-crowd, now you're in style
And in the winter gets cold, in Vogue with your skin out
City of sin, it's a pity on a whim
Good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them
Mommy took a bus trip, now she got her bust out
Everybody ride her, just like a bus route
Hail Mary to the city, you're a virgin
And Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church end
Came here for school, graduated to the high life
Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight
MDMA got you feelin' like a champion
The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien
[Chorus]
[Bridge: Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city
Street lights, big dreams, all lookin' pretty
No place in the world that could compare
Put your lighters in the air
Everybody say "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah"
[Chorus]
Go to Rap Genius if you want to learn more about the lyrics of this song.
Here is Alicia Keyes and Jay-Z singing Empire State of Mind live.
Here is Alicia Keyes singing Empire State of Mind II (no rap)
Oooooohh New York x2
Grew up in a town that is famous as the place of movie scenes
Noise was always loud, there are sirens all around and the streets are mean
If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere, that's what they say
Seeing my face in lights or my name on marquees found down on Broadway
Even if it ain’t all it seems, I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York, New York, New York!
On the avenue, there ain't never a curfew, ladies work so hard
Such a melting pot, on the corner selling rock, preachers pray to God
Hail a gypsy-cab, takes me down from Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge
Some will sleep tonight with a hunger far more than an empty fridge
I'm gonna make it by any means, I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These street will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York, New York, New York!
One hand in the air for the big city,
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty
No place in the world that can compare
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
In New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These street will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York!
Friday, January 17, 2014
The Jersey Shore
Here is an old video about Seaside Heights, one of the towns on the Jersey Shore. You can see the beautiful beaches, the boardwalk and the amusements. It might be difficult to understand, but you can watch and learn more about the Jersey Shore.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Bruce Springsteen - "Born to Run"
In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through the mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on highway 9,
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected,and steppin' out over the line
h-Oh, Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
`Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run
yes, girl we were
Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend
I want to guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
and strap your hands 'cross my engines
Together we could break this trap
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back
h-Oh, Will you walk with me out on the wire
`Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta know how it feels
I want to know if love is wild
Babe I want to know if love is real
Oh, can you show me
Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard
Girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors
And the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
I wanna die with you Wendy on the street tonight
In an everlasting kiss
1-2-3-4!
The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
Everybody's out on the run tonight
but there's no place left to hide
Together Wendy we can live with the sadness
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul
h-Oh, Someday girl I don't know when
we're gonna get to that place
Where we really wanna go
and we'll walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us
baby we were born to run
Oh honey, tramps like us
baby we were born to run
Come on with me, tramps like us
baby we were born to run
Ru-uh-uh-un
Mm-mm-mm-mm
Uh-uh-uh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Ru-uh-uh-uh-un
Mm-mm-mm-mm
Whoa-oh-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Ru-uh-uh-un
The Star Spangled Banner
In 1991, at the height of her career, Whitney Houston sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. This is considered by many people to be the best performance of the US National Anthem.
O say can you see
By the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight's last gleaming
Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly streaming
And the rockets red glare
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there
O say does that star spangled banner yet wave
For the land of of the free and the home of the brave
Explore the original Star Spangled Banner (the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812) here.
O say can you see
By the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight's last gleaming
Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly streaming
And the rockets red glare
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there
O say does that star spangled banner yet wave
For the land of of the free and the home of the brave
Explore the original Star Spangled Banner (the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812) here.
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