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Song

Lyrics written by
Originally written by
Language
English
Adapted from
How Can I Keep from Singing? written by Robert Lowry
Comments
Doris Plenn wrote the following additional verse to this song in the 1950s as a protest to McCarthyism:

"When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,
And hear their death-knell ringing,
When friends rejoice both far and near,
How can I keep from singing?
In prison cell and dungeon vile,
Our thoughts to them go winging;
When friends by shame are undefiled,
How can I keep from singing?"

With this additional verse, this song came to popularity during the 1960s' folk revival.
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Originals

Adaptations

An adaptation is a musical work, which uses elements (music or lyrics) from another musical work.

Versions

written by English

Title Performer Release date Info
1975
1994
1996
1997
May 16, 2000
2000
2000
2000
2001 Medley
2002
March 6, 2006
2007
2007 Live
November 23, 2009
2009
September 21, 2010
October 11, 2010
2011
May 2013
February 2016
October 7, 2016 Medley
Live
March 20, 2017
September 10, 2018
2018
November 2020
How Can I Keep from Singing? Cormac December 4, 2020 Unverified