Paul Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was a multi-lingual America… Read Full Bio ↴Paul Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was a multi-lingual American actor, athlete, bass-baritone concert singer, writer, civil rights activist, Spingarn Medal winner, and Lenin Peace Prize laureate.

Robeson found fame as an actor and singer with his fine bass-baritone voice. He is one of the few true basses in American music, his beautiful and powerful voice descending as low as a C below the bass clef. In addition to his stage performances, his renditions of old Negro spirituals were acclaimed; Robeson was the first to bring them to the concert stage.
Robeson's repertoire of African-American folk songs helped bring these to much wider attention both inside the US and abroad. Robeson also became interested in the folk music of the world; he came to be conversant with 20 languages, fluent or near fluent in 12. His standard repertoire after the 1920's included songs in many languages (e.g., Chinese, Russian, Yiddish, German, etc.).

Robeson was among the first performers to sing in concert on behalf of the U.S. World War II war effort. He sang and spoke out against racist conditions experienced by Asian and Black Americans; he condemned segregation in both the North and the South.
Like many intellectuals and artists of the time, Robeson supported the Soviet Union. After living as a second-class citizen under Jim Crow laws in the United States, what Robeson saw in the Soviet Union led him to believe that it was free of racial prejudice. In June 1949, Robeson visited the Soviet Union to sing in concert and was given a warm public welcome.
In 1950, after he refused to sign an affidavit that he was not a Communist, the U.S. government took away Robeson's passport and, with it, his freedom to travel outside the United States. The travel ban ended in 1958 when Robeson’s passport was returned to him after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in Kent vs. Dulles, that the Secretary of State had no right to deny a passport or require any citizen to sign an affidavit because of his political beliefs. However, because of the controversy surrounding him, all of Paul Robeson's recordings and films were withdrawn from circulation. From then until the late 1970s, it became increasingly difficult in the United States to hear Robeson sing on records or on the radio, or to see any of his films, including the highly acclaimed and successful 1936 film version of Show Boat.

Welsh miners' organisations were among the most prominent international supporters of the campaign calling for the restoration of his passport and to Let Paul Robeson Sing!. When his passport was returned, Robeson traveled to Wales to appear at the National Eisteddfod in Ebbw Vale. He then performed at the Miners' Eisteddfod, fulfilling a promise he had made while prevented from traveling. In 1960, Robeson's final performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London included choral accompaniment from the Cwmbach Welsh male voice choir.
Robeson's association with Wales began in 1928 while he was performing in London in the musical Show Boat. There, he met a group of unemployed miners who had taken part in a "hunger march" from South Wales to protest their situation. During the 1930s, Robeson made several visits to Welsh mining areas, including performances in Cardiff, Neath and Aberdare. A number of Welsh artists have celebrated Robeson's life: The Manic Street Preachers' song "Let Robeson Sing" appears on the album Know Your Enemy.

Jerusalem
Paul Robeson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green
And was the holy lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen

And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills
And was Jerusalem builded here

Among those dark Satanic mills

Bring me my bow of burning gold
Bring me my arrows of desire
Bring me my spears o'clouds unfold
Bring me my chariot of fire

I will not cease from mental fight
Nor shall my sword sleep in hand

'Til we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land

Overall Meaning

The song Jerusalem by Paul Robeson is a hymn of hope and devotion to England, and its lyrics have a historical and mystical background. The first stanza refers to the myth that Jesus Christ walked on the mountains and pastures of England, and that his presence and sacrifice make England a sacred land. The second stanza explores the possibility of a divine visitation that could bring redemption to the industrialized and oppressed nation, through the symbol of Jerusalem, the city of peace and justice. The contrast between the natural beauty of England and the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution is emphasized in the lines "countenance divine" and "dark Satanic mills," creating a sense of urgency and obligation to restore the spiritual essence of the country.

The third stanza represents a personal call to arms for the singer, as he asks for his "bow of burning gold," "arrows of desire," "spears of clouds unfold," and "chariot of fire" to fight against the enemies of freedom and equality. The last stanza is a declaration of the singer's commitment to the cause of building Jerusalem, a metaphor for a tangible and spiritual utopia, in England's landscape. The use of the verb "cease" implies a continuous struggle, and the image of the sword that shall not sleep in hand suggests a readiness for action, leading to the crescendo of the final line, which repeats the main message of the song.

Line by Line Meaning

And did those feet in ancient time
Were there people in the past who walked upon England's green mountains

Walk upon England's mountains green
People walked on the green mountains of England

And was the holy lamb of God
Was the pure and divine image of God

On England's pleasant pastures seen
Seen on the pleasant fields of England

And did the countenance divine
Was the divine image visible

Shine forth upon our clouded hills
Emerged from the hills that were covered with clouds

And was Jerusalem builded here
Was Jerusalem built in this place

Among those dark Satanic mills
Despite the existence of the struggle between good and evil

Bring me my bow of burning gold
Let me be equipped with powerful weapons

Bring me my arrows of desire
I want weapons that will fulfill my desires

Bring me my spears o'clouds unfold
I need weapons that will strike from the sky like lightning bolts