1. Andrew Hoover
Mod 2
Name of Song: We shall overcome
Date: Recorded in 1963 (Unknown when written)
Written by: Peter Seeger
Performed by: Joan Baez
In listening to the selected song I was positively charged even though the tone is
monotone and seems rather dreary. I believe the musician is trying to show the standing
out of a soul against the adversities presented and for her case the silence of a huge
crowd. The chords of the guitar seem to be repeating and somehow on track while the
musician installs a unforgettable message into your head about hope being right around
the corner.
Not having to search deep for a meaning the basic idea behind “We Shall
Overcome” is that as people anything is possible and with endurance we can pass any
challenge. This song is addressed specifically to the African Americans during the 1960’s
when the Civil Rights Movements were being tested and fought for. The circumstances
were that African Americans were facing troublesome times being looked down upon by
many. This song really sums up their feelings of wanting to move on from this horrific
time period.
I find the meaning especially with the African Americans who needed courage
and determination in fighting the racial discrimination presented during the time period.
The song is set for many occasions but was used as an anthem for the Civil Rights
Movement during the March on Washington. At the event I would believe that it gained
much popularity and had many people joining in on the singing and the idea behind the
song was reached to almost everyone in Washington. I see the ideas being that with
collective efforts and group perseverance that the Blacks and Whites associated with the
Movement would overcome if they saw the solution in their minds and used their actions

2. wisely. The problems this song gives are that for so many years the African Americans
have been treated badly and stepped upon and taken advantage of. Events described by
this piece would be the March on Washington and really any other situations where
African Americans protested for their rights.
In this piece you can bring out the view of groups of people who in any time
period found the strength to walk tall and fight the beating down forces who were facing
them. Although this song isn’t made up of facts but personal beliefs and emotions on the
challenges faced during tough times. Not to mention that most of this song contains
conjecture in saying “We Shall Overcome and We Shall Live in Peace” because this is
being formed from personal beliefs and is not a fact by any means even though it seems it
did come true. Information provided in this song and it’s lyrics are reliable if you are
describing the feelings of people during the Civil Rights Movement and the troubles that
came with it.
From the song you can take away the inferences that whom ever believed in this
song believed that people in this time period were going to succeed and gain the equality
fought for. Yes, “We Shall Overcome” affects America in huge ways, mainly because it
helped sum the feelings of African Americans whom gained racial equality and whom are
now respected like they should have been. In conclusion, this song written maybe back in
the Civil Rights Era or for the Civil Rights Movement shows a position of strength even
against the odds and does so in a few simple, yet truthful phrases which will stand out
among others throughout time.
“We Shall Overcome.” U.S. Library of Congress. (12 March 2009). http://www.loc.gov/teachers/lyrical/songs/overcome.html