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by James Weldon Johnson (1871 - 1938)

The gift to sing
Language: English 
Sometimes the mist overhangs my path,
And blackening clouds about me cling;
But, oh, I have a magic way
To turn the gloom to cheerful day--
        I softly sing.

And if the way grows darker still,
Shadowed by Sorrow's somber wing,
With glad defiance in my throat,
I pierce the darkness with a note,
        And sing, and sing.

I brood not over the broken past,
Nor dread whatever time may bring;
No nights are dark, no days are long,
While in my heart there swells a song,
        And I can sing. 

Text Authorship:

  • by James Weldon Johnson (1871 - 1938) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The gift to sing", 2012 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Marques L. A. Garrett (b. 1984), "The Gift to Sing" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2017-11-13
Line count: 15
Word count: 91

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