Sweet Honey In The Rock- "Ella’s Song: We Who Believe In Freedom Cannot Rest Until It Comes" (Video, Lyrics, & Information)

Geepereet  Dec 2, 2008

Words won't do so you'll have to listen..........

****
Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the song "Ella's Song: We Who Believe In Freedom Can Not Rest (Until It Comes".

A 2008 YouTube video of of the a cappella group Sweet Honey In The Rock performing this song is included in this post along with the lyrics for that song.

This post also presents information about Civil Rights leader Ella Baker as well as information about the "Ella's Song" and information about Sweet Honey In The Rock.

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, inspirational, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Ella Baker for her legacy and thanks to Sweet Honey In The Rock for their legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

-snip-

Click https://civilrightssongs.blogspot.com/2014/12/sweet-honey-in-rock-ellas-song-we-who.html
for a 2014 post about this song on pancocojams' sister blog "Civil Rights Songs".

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SONG
" "Ella’s Song: We Who Believe In Freedom Cannot Rest Until It Comes" is a contemporary protest song  that was composed by Bernice Johnson Reagon for the a capella African American heritage vocal group Sweet Honey In the Rock.

Here's a quote from Nan Dillard's review of "Ella Song" on http://ellabakercenter.org/blog/2013/12/ellas-song-we-who-believe-in-freedom-cannot-rest-until-it-comes :
["Ella’s Song: “We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest Until it Comes”] "is an anthem, a meditation on the ultimate lesson of the freedom fight passed down generationally by Ms. Ella herself that is meant to be spoken boldly out loud or under one’s breath as the situation demands to empower both purpose and resolve."

****

INFORMATION ABOUT ELLA BAKER
Here's information about Ella Baker, the civil rights activist whose life work inspired this song:
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Baker
" "Ella Josephine Baker (December 13, 1903 – December 13, 1986) was an African-American civil rights and  human rights activist. She was a largely behind-the-scenes organizer whose career spanned over five decades. She worked alongside some of the most famous civil rights leaders of the 20th century, including W. E. B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, A. Philip Randolph, and Martin Luther King, Jr. She also mentored many emerging activists such as Diane Nash, Stokely Carmichael, Rosa Parks, and Bob Moses. She was a critic of professionalized, charismatic leadership and a promoter of grassroots organizing and radical democracy.[1] She has been called "One of the most important African American leaders of the twentieth century and perhaps the most influential woman in the civil rights movement."...

****
INFORMATION ABOUT SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK
From http://sweethoneyintherock.org/
"Sweet Honey In The Rock® is a performance ensemble rooted in African American history and culture. The ensemble educates, entertains and empowers its audience and community through the dynamic vehicles of a cappella singing and American Sign Language interpretation for the Deaf and hearing impaired. Sweet Honey’s audience and community comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures throughout the United States and around the world, and includes people of all ages, economic/education/social backgrounds, political persuasions, religious affiliations, sexual preferences and differing abilities."....

****

LYRICS: ELLA'S SONG: WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM CANNOT REST UNTIL IT COMES

(Composed by Bernice Johnson Reagon, 1988)

 

We who believe in freedom cannot rest

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

 

Until the killing of black men, black mothers' sons

Is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers' sons

 

That which touches me most

Is that I had a chance to work with people

Passing on to others that which was passed on to me

 

To me young people come first

They have the courage where we fail

And if I can but shed some light as they carry us through the gale

 

The older I get the better I know that the secret of my going on

Is when the reins are in the hands of the young, who dare to run against the storm

 

Not needing to clutch for power

Not needing the light just to shine on me

I need to be one in the number as we stand against tyranny

 

Struggling myself don't mean a whole lot, I've come to realize

That teaching others to stand up and fight is the only way my struggle survives

 

I'm a woman who speaks in a voice and I must be heard

At times I can be quite difficult, I'll bow to no man's word

We who believe in freedom cannot rest

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

 

Source: https://genius.com/Sweet-honey-in-the-rock-ellas-song-lyrics

****

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.