We shall overcome, we shall overcome,
We shall overcome someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
The Lord will see us through, The Lord will see us through,
The Lord will see us through someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
We’re on to victory, We’re on to victory,
We’re on to victory someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We’re on to victory someday.
We’ll walk hand in hand, we’ll walk hand in hand,
We’ll walk hand in hand someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We’ll walk hand in hand someday.
We are not afraid, we are not afraid,
We are not afraid today;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We are not afraid today.
The truth shall make us free, the truth shall make us free,
The truth shall make us free someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
The truth shall make us free someday.
We shall live in peace, we shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall live in peace someday.
About Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger, byname Peter Seeger (born May 3, 1919, New York City, New York, U.S.-died January 27, 2014, New York City), American folk singer who inspired younger performers during the 1960s folk revival.
A musically gifted family raised Seeger. Charles Seeger, his father, was an influential musicologist, and his mother, Constance, taught violin at Juilliard. Nevertheless, Pete’s songwriting was most inspired by the introspective poems of his uncle, Alan Seeger. Seeger hitchhiked and rode freight trains around the country after leaving Harvard in 1938, collecting country ballads, work songs, and hymns and developing virtuosity on the five-string banjo. Almanac Singers, a quartet that included Woody Guthrie, performed at union halls, farm meetings, and wherever his populist political sentiments were welcomed in 1940. After World War II, the group disbanded.
As a member of the Weavers, he achieved considerable success on college campuses, in concert, and on several records during 1948. The Weavers were suddenly blacklisted by much of the entertainment industry after a great deal of controversy arose concerning Seeger’s previous left-wing and labour political activities. A Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall sparked renewed interest in their music and message three years later after the group was unable to book concerts or sell records. The group disbanded in 1963 after Seeger left in 1958. A motion picture documentary about the group, Wasn’t That a Time!, was released in 1982.
After the 1950s Seeger usually worked alone or with his family (brother Mike was a member of New Lost City Ramblers; sister Peggy, a singer and multi-instrumentalist, helped lead the British folk revival with Ewan McColl, her partner in life and in music). After his 1961 conviction for contempt of Congress stemming from his refusal in 1955 to answer questions posed by the House Committee on Un-American Activities concerning his political activities, he was still blacklisted as a solo performer. The major networks refused to let Seeger appear on television for several years after his conviction was overturned in an appeal the following year. Later in the performer’s career, controversy gradually diminished.
