Keep Your Eyes On The Prize (1950s)
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize is a folk song that became influential during the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. It is based on the traditional song, "Gospel Plow," also known as "Hold On," "Keep Your Hand on the Plow," and various permutations thereof.
An early reference to the older song, "Gospel Plow," is in Alan Lomax's 1949 book "Our Singing Country."[1] The book references a 1937 recording by Elihu Trusty of Paintsville, Kentucky, which is in the Library of Congress (Ref No .1397 A1). Lomax's references for Gospel Plow cite two earlier works. The first is from English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians published in 1917, indicating that Gospel Plow dates from at least the early twentieth century. The second reference is to a 1928 book, American Negro Folk-Songs, which shows an African-American heritage for the original song.[2][3]
Key Lyrics
Possible Lyricist
Biblical Reference
Reference
- ↑ John Lomax and Alan Lomax. Our Singing Country, A Second Volume of American Ballads and Folk Songs. 1949. The Macmillan Companyp 44 - 45. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ↑ Cecil J. Sharp and 0. Campbell. "English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians". 1917. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Vol. 2 p. 292. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ↑ N. L. White. "American Negro Folk-Songs". 1928. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 115. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
