paul robeson “going home,’
from:
“Going home, going home,
I’m a going home;
Quiet like, some still day,
I’m just going home.
It’s not far, just close by,
Through an open door;
Work all done, care laid by,
going to fear no more.
Mother’s there expecting me,
Father’s waiting too;
Lots of folk gather’d there,
All the friends I knew.
Home, home, I’m going home!
Nothin’ lost, all’s gain,
No more fret nor pain,
No more stumbling on the way,
No more longing for the day,
Gwine to roam no more!
Mornin’ star lights the way,
Restless dreams all done;
Shadows gone, break o’day,
Real life just begun.
There’s no break, ain’t no end,
Just a living on;
Wide awake, with a smile
Going on and on.
Goin’ home, going home,
I’m just goin’ home.
It’s not far, just close by,
Through an open door;
I’m just going home.
Goin’ home.”
Paul Robeson is a towering figure in American, make that World Music. His contributions to the arts globaly were as deep as his bass-baritone voice. Athlete (an All-American football player at Rutgers where he was also class Valedictorian,) social activist, and an actor on stage and screen. One of the most resolute racial pioneers of the 20th century. To hear him is to be stopped in your tracks by the rare command that is steadfast in his work. His rendition of “Going Home,” from Antonin Dvorak’s 9th Symphony remains iconically present for us.
