- Music written by
- [Traditional]
- Lyrics written by
- [Unknown]
- Publication date
- September 1948
- Language
- English
- Comments
-
Besides the chorus, this has two verses not part of the later We Shall Overcome: "We will build a new world" and "The Lord will see us through". That adaptation used "We'll walk hand in hand", though, and other verses were added (see there). Nevertheless, even artists only recording the chorus credit Carawan/Hamilton/Seeger/Horton (in whose names "We Shall Overcome" was registered) or just Seeger for the song writing.
In 2016, the United States District Court in Manhattan ruled that the chorus is public domain = traditional and the additional phrases by Seeger & co. remain their work. With a higher court confirming that, the right-holders declared to from then on refrain from claiming copyrights in the melody or lyrics of any verse of the song.
History:
There are various theories about this song's origin. Ethnomusicologists have stated that it reflects beginning and end of the 19th-century "No More Auction Block for Me" spiritual, also known from its refrain as "Many Thousands Gone" (which Bob Dylan quotes as an influence for "Blowing in the Wind").
The tune is also told to have been derived from the 19th century spiritual "I'll Be All Right", which, again, is supposed to make use of elements from the Italian 18th century song "Caro mio bene" and the Latin language choral "O sanctissima".
Although the musical and lyrical structures (not the wording) are obviously different, some also insist it was based on "I'll Overcome Someday", copyrighted in 1901 by Charles Albert Tindley.
Others suggest the main source was the gospel "If My Jesus Wills", composed in the early 1930s, published in 1942 and copyrighted in 1954 by Baptist choir director Louise Shropshire (which has been supported by Pete Seeger).
See also comments for We Shall Overcome. - Licensing
- Request a synchronization license
Versions
We Will Overcome written by [Traditional], [Unknown] English
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| We Will Overcome | Joe Glazer and the Elm City Four | 1950 | First release | ||
| We Will Overcome | "Texas" Bill Strength | July 1950 | |||
| We Shall Overcome | Jewish Young Folk-Singers, soloist: Laura Duncan | 1952 | |||
| We Will Overcome | The Ian Campbell Folk Group | 1962 | |||
| We Will Overcome | The Limeliters | 1963 | |||
| We Shall Overcome | Odetta | 1966 | Live | ||
| We Shall Overcome | Laurel Aitken | 1966 | |||
| We Shall Overcome | The Maytals | 1968 | |||
| We Shall Overcome | Prince Buster All Stars | 1968 | |||
| We Shall Overcome | Malou Berg | 1984 | |||
| We Shall Overcome | Etta Cameron | 1987 | |||
| We Will Overcome | Turtle Creek Chorale / The Women's Chorus of Dallas | 1995 | |||
| We Will Overcome | The Sign Posters | July 2011 | |||
| We Shall Overcome | Chris Vallillo | October 29, 2015 | |||
| We Shall Over Come | Chris Chandler & John Elliott | 2015 |
We Will Overcome written by [Traditional] instrumental
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | We Shall Overcome | The Paul Winter Sextet | 1964 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | The Majestics [CA] | 1968 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Charlie Haden | 1970 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Eela Craig | 1980 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Charlie Haden, Hank Jones | April 4, 1995 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Johan Stengård | 1995 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Larry McDonough | 2003 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Larry Goldings | 2006 | ||
| i | We Will Overcome | Melvin Smith [US2] | July 17, 2007 | Unverified | |
| i | We Shall Overcome | Stephen Bennett | 2009 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Mark O'Connor | February 14, 2012 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Alexandre Furnelle - Peter Hertmans | July 15, 2013 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Laurence Hobgood | 2019 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Ernest Turner | 2019 | ||
| i | We Shall Overcome | Bill Frisell | 2020 |
Vencerem written by Josep Maria Andreu Catalan
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vencerem | Lluís Olivares | 1966 | First release |
We Shall Overcome written by Frank Hamilton, Guy Carawan, Zilphia Horton, Pete Seeger, [Traditional] English
Tots junts vencerem written by unknown author(s) Catalan
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tots junts vencerem | Roslyn | November 11, 2011 |
Jednou budem dál written by Ivo Fischer Czech
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| We Shall Overcome (Jednou budeme dál) | Spirituál kvintet | 1984 | First recording on September 29, 1982 First release Medley |
Wij zijn overal written by Jan Rot Dutch
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wij zijn overal | Jan Rot | 2014 | First release |
Overcome 2021 written by Kirk Franklin English
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overcome 2021 | Kirk Franklin | June 4, 2021 | First release |
Viele Tausend Meilen written by Ernst Bader German
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viele Tausend Meilen | Hartmut, Knut und Sigrun Kiesewetter | 1965 | First release |
Venceremos written by María Elena Walsh Spanish
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venceremos | María Elena Walsh | 1973 | First release |
We Shall Overcome written by unknown author(s) Spanish
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| We Shall Overcome | Karamelo Santo | 2021 | First release |
Segern skall bli vår written by Egon Zandelin Swedish
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segern skall bli vår | Jan Sparring och Göran Stenlund | 1965 | First release |
Vi ska övervinna written by Roland von Malmborg Swedish
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vi ska övervinna | Roland von Malmborg | 1965 | First release |
Vi ska frihet vinna written by Per Filip Swedish
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vi ska frihet vinna | Mia Marianne och Per Filip | 1984 | First release |
Noi ci riusciremo written by Tony Cucchiara Italian (not verified yet)
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noi ci riusciremo | Tony Cucchiara | Nelly Fioramonti (Tony Cucchiara, Nelly Fioramonti) | 1969 | Unverified |