Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed On Freedom)

"Woke Up This Morning" is a freedom song made as a revamp of the old gospel song "I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus" in the 1960s. It is one of many similar songs during the civil rights movement. The song was created by Reverend Robert Wesby of Aurora, Illinois, in the Hinds County jail during the freedom rides.[1]

Lyrics

Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom
I said I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom
Well I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom
Hallelu, hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, hallelujah

It ain't no harm in keep'n' your mind
-Your mind stayed on freedom
Ain't no harm in keep'n' your mind
-Your mind stayed on freedom
-It ain't no harm in keeping your mind stayed on freedom
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah

Walking and talking with my mind
-My mind stayed on freedom
Singing and praying with my mind
-My mind stayed on freedom 2•
Hallelu, hallelu, halleu, hallelu, hallelujah

You've got to walk, walk
You've got to walk, walk
You've got to walk with your mind on freedom
You've got to talk, talk
You've got to talk, talk
You've got to talk with your mind on freedom
Oh, oh, oh you got to walk walk, talk talk
(Additional verses may be added when the song gets going, as was typical for freedom songs.)[1]

Background

Reverend Wesby of Aurora, Illinois, created this revamp of an old gospel song "I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus" while spending time in Hinds County jail during the freedom rides. The song spread and became part of the civil rights movement as did many others during the time, this song being one of the more notable pieces. The song has been printed more recently by Pete Seeger in his book Everybody Says Freedom. Songs such as these were used as a means of protest propaganda, uniting together those with causes to demonstrate for. This song falls under the folk music genre, which was popular in the 1930s and 1940s but lost momentum. The genre was revived in the 1960s during the civil rights movement. Music and singing were an integral part of the movement, many of them being adapted from earlier religious songs.[1][2][3][4]

References
  1. Seeger, Pete (1989). Everybody Says Freedom. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. pp. 175–177. ISBN 9780393306040.
  2. Ozzimo, Jaclyn. "Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art". Gale Virtual Reference Library. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  3. Brooks, Christopher. "The African American Almanac". Gale Virtual Reference Library. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  4. Stergass, Jon. "St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture". Gale Virtual Reference Library. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
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