Dorothy Norwood (born November 27, 1935 in Atlanta, Georgia) began singing … Read Full Bio ↴Dorothy Norwood (born November 27, 1935 in Atlanta, Georgia) began singing and touring with her family at the age of eight. In 1956, she moved to Chicago, Illinois, and was soon singing with gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Shortly after, during the early 1960s, Norwood became a member of the gospel group Albertina Walker and The Caravans, which would include such gospel music legends as the Queen of Gospel Albertina Walker who is also Dorothy's role model and confidant. Other members of the Caravans include Shirley Caesar, Inez Andrews, Delores Washington and the late Rev. James Cleveland.

heaven
Dorothy Norwood Lyrics

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Heaven help the child who never had a home,
Heaven help the girl who walks the streets alone
Heaven help the roses if the bombs begin to fall,
Heaven help us all.
Heaven help the black man if he struggles one more day,
Heaven help the white man if he turns his back away.
Heaven help the man who kicks the man who has to crawl,
Heaven help us all.

Heaven help us all
Heaven help us all, help us all.
Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we call Oh, yeah!
Heaven help the boy who won't reach twenty one,
Heaven help the man who gave that boy a gun.
Heaven help the people with their backs against the wall,
Lord, Heaven help us all.
Heaven help us all.
Heaven help us all,
Heaven help us all, help us all.
Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we call, help us all.

Now I lay me down before I go to sleep.
In a troubled world, I pray the Lord to keep, keep hatred from the mighty,
And the mighty, from the small,
Heaven help us all.
Oh, oh, oh, yeah!
Heaven help us all
Heaven help us all.
Heaven help us all,

Heaven help us all, help us all.
Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we call, help us all.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Dorothy Norwood's song Heaven Help Us All inspires people to strive for a better world. It highlights the struggles that different groups of people face in the world and hopes that a divine force will intervene and provide relief. The first two lines shed light on the difficulties that homeless and abandoned children and girls who have to walk alone on the streets encounter. The third line metaphorically describes how even the beauty of roses cannot escape the damaging effect of war. The chorus expresses the universal desire for help from an outside source to deal with problems too big for individuals to handle.

The following verse highlights racial struggles between the white and black community. It raises concerns about the unsettling trend of hate crimes and police brutality towards black people as they struggle to survive each day. Similarly, heaven is asked to bless the white man with empathy instead of apathy towards their struggles. The final verse moves past these specific instances to include all people struggling against oppression, and the plea is to maintain our faith in divine intervention to bring about positivity in the world.

Line by Line Meaning

Heaven help the child who never had a home
May God assist the child who never had a place to call home.

Heaven help the girl who walks the streets alone
May God assist the girl who traverses the paths of loneliness.

Heaven help the roses if the bombs begin to fall
May God save the flowers if destruction befalls them.

Heaven help us all
May God help all of us.

Heaven help the black man if he struggles one more day
May God assist the black man if they face yet another day of hardship.

Heaven help the white man if he turns his back away
May God assist the white man if they choose to ignore their fellow human's struggles.

Heaven help the man who kicks the man who has to crawl
May God assist the oppressor who kicks the oppressed while they are down.

Heaven help us all
May God help all of us.

Heaven help us all, help us all.
May God help all of us, every single one.

Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we call Oh, yeah!
May God come to our aid when we call upon him.

Heaven help the boy who won't reach twenty one
May God save the boy who won't live to see adulthood.

Heaven help the man who gave that boy a gun
May God assist the one who gave that boy the power to bring about destruction.

Heaven help the people with their backs against the wall
May God assist those in dire situations and without escape.

Lord, Heaven help us all.
Oh Lord, may you help all of us.

Heaven help us all.
May God help all of us.

Heaven help us all,
May God help all of us.

Heaven help us all, help us all.
May God help all of us, each and every one.

Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we call, help us all.
May God hear our plea for assistance and help all of us.

Now I lay me down before I go to sleep.
Before I rest, I pray.

In a troubled world, I pray the Lord to keep, keep hatred from the mighty,
In a world of turmoil, I ask the Lord to protect us from the power-hungry who spread hate.

And the mighty, from the small,
And also to protect the vulnerable from the mighty.

Heaven help us all.
May God help all of us.

Oh, oh, oh, yeah!
Expresses emotion and hopefulness.

Heaven help us all
May God help all of us.

Heaven help us all.
May God help all of us.

Heaven help us all,
May God help all of us.

Heaven help us all, help us all.
May God help all of us, each and every one.

Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we call, help us all.
May God hear our plea for assistance and help all of us.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network
Written by: Ronald N. Miller

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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