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: 92