Born Agatha Nathalia Weston in Detroit, Michigan, she was signed to Motown Records in 1961, scoring a minor hit with "Love Me All the Way" (R&B #24, Pop #88). Weston's biggest solo hits with Motown were "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" (R&B #4, Pop #50, 1965, later covered by The Isley Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears and The Doobie Brothers, and "Helpless" (R&B #13, Pop #56, 1966, previously recorded by The Four Tops on their Second Album LP). Her biggest claim to fame was singing the classic hit "It Takes Two" with Marvin Gaye in 1966 and her later recording of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing". It was the success of "It Takes Two" that caused Motown to partner Gaye with Tammi Terrell, spawning even more success for the label.
Weston left Motown in 1967 and later sued the label over disputes about royalties. She and her then-husband William "Mickey" Stevenson (former A&R head at Motown) both went to MGM Records. Weston cut a couple of singles for MGM, "I Got What You Need," and "Nobody," which went largely unnoticed due to lack of airplay and promotion. She made an album for the label, This Is America, which included her popular version of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." This was released as a single and featured in the movie Wattstax. All the money from the single was donated to the United Negro College Fund.
She recorded several more albums for various labels, Stax/Volt among them, and also made an album of duets with Johnny Nash. None of these recordings charted, and Weston reportedly relocated to Israel, where she worked with young singers.
Weston made a guest appearance on The Bill Cosby Show (1969–1971), in episode #50 in March 1971.
Along with many former Motown artists, she signed with Ian Levine's Motorcity Records in the 1980s, releasing the single "Signal Your Intention", which peaked at #1 in the UK Hi-NRG charts. It was followed by the album Investigate (1990), which included some re-recordings of her Motown hits as well as new material. A second album for the label, Talking Loud (1992), was never released, although all the songs were included on the compilation The Best Of Kim Weston (1996).
Today Weston is a disc jockey on a local Detroit radio station, where she sponsors the summer events at Hart Plaza. She also tours sporadically, often alongside former Motown colleagues Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves and Brenda Holloway. She is also featured on the 2006 four-CD release of the Motortown Revue series. In Cleveland, Ohio On August 17, 2013 Kim Weston was the 1st women to be inducted into The Official R&B Music Hall of Fame.
Lift Every Voice And Sing
Kim Weston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Til earth and heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list'ning skies
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us
Let us march on 'til victory is won
Stony the road we trod
Bitter the chastening rod
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died
Yet with a steady beat
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered
Out from the gloomy past
'Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast
God of our weary years
God of our silent tears
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light
Keep us forever in the path, we pray
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee
Shadowed beneath Thy hand
May we forever stand
True to our God
True to our native land
The song "Lift Every Voice And Sing" is also known as the Black National Anthem, written by James Weldon Johnson in 1899 on the occasion of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The song was initially composed as a poem, sung by 500 school children in Jacksonville, Florida, which soon gained popularity as a song. The song became an expression for the black community in America of their struggle for freedom and their pride in being black Americans. Many African Americans saw it as their own national anthem and began to sing it at important occasions.
The lyrics of the song are filled with optimism, hope, and faith, speaking of lifting every voice in song until the earth and heaven ring out with harmony. It calls for rejoicing and the resounding of voices as loud as the rolling sea. It speaks of having faith in a dark past that has taught us valuable lessons while remaining hopeful for the present and the future. The song speaks of the hope that has kept African Americans going through tough times at the hand of oppression, racism, and slavery, and finally on to a brighter day. The song is centered on the belief that God, who brought them this far, would guide them on the path ahead.
The lyrics of the song remind us of the struggles of the Black Americans, such as the road that they have trodden, which was stony and bitter, the chastening rod that was inflicted on them, and the path that they had to tread through the blood of the slaughtered. The song speaks of the weary feet that have finally found a place for which their forefathers sighed. They stand now on a land where the white gleam of the bright star is cast.
The song also prays to God to guide their feet and keep them from straying off the path to ensure that they are always true to their God and their native land. The song is an expression of the resilience and strength of the black community in America, which gives a profound meaning to the African American experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Lift ev'ry voice and sing
Raise your voice high and sing
'Til earth and heaven ring
Until the earth and sky resound
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty
Let the sound echo with freedom
Let our rejoicing rise
Let our happiness soar
High as the list'ning skies
As high as the attentive skies
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea
Let it reverberate like the roaring ocean
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song of faith that our difficult past has taught us
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us
Sing a song of hope that our present has given us
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Facing the new day as it dawns, full of promise
Let us march on 'til victory is won
Let us keep moving forward until we achieve victory
Stony the road we trod
The path we walked was difficult
Bitter the chastening rod
We were punished and disciplined harshly
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died
During times when we had lost all hope
Yet with a steady beat
But with a constant rhythm
Have not our weary feet
Our tired feet have not
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
Reached the place where our ancestors longed to be?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered
We have overcome obstacles through hardship and tears
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered
We have come, walking our path through the bloodshed of our kin
Out from the gloomy past
Moving away from the dark past
'Til now we stand at last
Until now we have finally made it
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast
Where the shining light of our future is seen
God of our weary years
God of the years we've struggled through
God of our silent tears
God of the tears we've cried in silence
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way
You who has brought us this far on our journey
Thou who has by Thy might
You who has, by your power
Led us into the light
Guided us towards the light
Keep us forever in the path, we pray
We pray that you keep us on the right path forever
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee
So that we don't stray from the places where we've encountered You
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee
So that our hearts, intoxicated by worldly desires, don't forget You
Shadowed beneath Thy hand
Protected under Your hand
May we forever stand
May we forever remain standing
True to our God
True to You, our God
True to our native land
True to our homeland
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: James Weldon Johnson, John Rosamond Johnson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind