Level: 2/3
Tuning: Standard

Known as the "Black National Anthem", this heart-wrenching song was composed in 1905 by J. Rosamond Johnson with lyrics from a poem written by his brother James Weldon Johnson in 1900. I arranged it for the guitar based on a transcription from a modern hymnal sent to me by my mother who sang it at church and thought it might compel me to play it on guitar. Well she was right! This tune has beautiful, subtle harmonic changes in it that really can stir one's soul. I try to play it slowly ornamenting here and there and adding rhythmic emphases when I feel it. Since I really tried to stick as closely as possible to the sheet music (for piano), the fingerings might seem a little strange at first (particularly in the intro and at the end), but it’s all clearly laid out in the tab. The variation up the neck may be a bit difficult for those not used to fretting the G chord in a C shape or the E minor in a D minor position.