Let Robeson Sing

Why should we?

Apr 27, 2024

Hi all,

Thank you for joining me for today’s 2001 song, “Let Robeson Sing”, by Manic Street Preachers. If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article. Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics (written in italics).

✳️ Note: The level of this article is for students with a TOEIC of 550+, Eiken Pre-1, CEFR B2. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.

(906 words)

Manic Street Preachers is a group from Wales. They started out as a punk band but later moved into alternative rock. Many of their songs include social issues.

Paul Robeson, baritone, Washington, D.C. Parks, Gordon, 1912-2006, photographer. (Library of Congress)

Paul Robeson was an American singer, athlete, and actor. He was born in New Jersey in 1898. His father was an escaped slave in the 1800s. His mother’s great-grandfather was a baker and gave bread to Washington’s army during the American Revolutionary War.

Robeson was a very tall man at 6 feet 3 inches (190.5 cm). He went to college on an athletic scholarship. His grades were excellent, and he became valedictorian of his class. After university, he went on to law school at Columbia University.

Paul's singing voice was powerful. He sang songs about freedom and equality for all people. Paul also acted in movies and plays. He was the first black man to play the lead role in Shakespeare's play “Othello” on Broadway. People admired his talent and courage.

Throughout his career, Robeson faced discrimination because of the color of his skin, but he kept singing and speaking out for what he believed in.

Where are you now?
Broken up or still around?
The CIA says you’re a guilty man
Will we see the likes of you again?

There were many people who did not like the fact that he spoke out against racism. He also supported working people and said that workers in the USSR were treated better than they were in the U.S. The CIA and FBI started following him.

"Paul Robeson, world famous Negro baritone, leading Moore Shipyard (Oakland, CA) workers in singing the Star Spangled Banner - NARA (Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Can anyone make a difference anymore?
Can anyone write a protest song?
Pinky lefty revolutionary
Burnt at the stake for

Roberson was labeled “pink” and “lefty”, which were terms for a communist. Burnt at the stake refers to the Salem witch trials (1878) in which innocent people were accused of witchcraft, and many were put to death by being tied to a tall post and set on fire.

A stake (originally found at http://previews.123rf.com/images/jtairat/jtairat1408/jtairat140800044/30577856-The-knot-of-thick-rope-tied-around-a-wooden-stake--Stock-Photo.jpg)

A voice so pure - a vision so clear
I’ve gotta learn to live like you
Learn to sing like you
.
Went to Cuba to meet Castro
Never got past sleepy Moscow
A giant man with a heavenly voice
MK Ultra turned you paranoid

Robeson traveled around the world, sharing his voice and his message of hope and equality. He went to Cuba for a concert tour in 1961. This was at the height of the Cold War when the U.S. government prohibited its citizens from traveling to the country because of its ties to the USSR.

MK Ultra was a project carried out by the CIA. The agency used drugs to get information or to control people’s minds. At the time, other countries were also experimenting with mind control programs. The CIA project was illegal but lasted from 1953 until 1975 when it came to public attention. It is possible that Robeson was one of the citizens they used for their experiments.

In 1955, the government took away his passport because of his political beliefs, and he had to fight many years to get it back.

No passport ‘til 1958
McCarthy poisoned through with hate

Senator Joseph McCarthy was afraid that communists were in positions in the U.S. government. His House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated people in the government, in Hollywood, and in sports, and accused them of being communists. Many people lost their jobs and were blacklisted as a result of his brutal tactics. Robeson was also called in front of HUAC to answer questions about his political beliefs and activities.

Actor, singer, and civil rights activist Paul Robeson speaks with fellow activist and California Eagle editor and publisher Charlotta Bass. Both Paul Robeson and Charlotta Bass were accused of disloyalty by the Committee of Un-American Activities and were the subjects to federal investigations. Los Angeles Daily News, c1949. (Wikimedia Commons)

Liberty lost still buried today
Beneath the lie of the USA
.
Say what you want
Say what you want
.

A voice so pure - a vision so clear
I’ve gotta learn to live like you
Learn to sing like you

Paul Robeson reads the 1947 poem by Langston Hughes, Freedom Train:

Now let the Freedom Train come zooming down the track
Gleaming in the sunlight for white and black
Not stopping at no stations marked colored nor white
Just stopping in the fields in the broad daylight
Stopping in the country in the wide open air
Where there never was a Jim Crow sign nowhere
And no lily-white committees, politicians of note
Nor poll tax layer through which colored can’t vote
And there won’t be no kinda color lines
The Freedom Train will be yours
And mine

Before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s, there were many laws that denied certain people the right to do things that others could do. They were called Jim Crow laws. For example, blacks had to sit in the balcony of theaters, had to ride in black-only taxis, and could not use city parks, water fountains, restrooms or elevators for white people. Blacks in some states also had to pay a fee to be able to vote. The lyrics point to what Paul Robeson believed in, that one day there would be no signs separating opportunities for people based on the color of their skin.

A voice so pure - a vision so clear
I’ve gotta learn to live like you
Learn to sing like you
.
Sing it loud, sing it proud
I will be heard, I will be found
Sing it loud, sing it proud
I will be heard, I will be found

Paul Robeson died in 1976. He will always be remembered as a hero who used his voice to inspire change. He showed everyone that no matter who you are or where you come from, you can make a difference with your talents and your voice.

Question:

What part of the story of Paul Robeson did you find interesting or inspiring?

Let Robeson Sing

Why should we?

Paul Robeson reads the 1947 poem by Langston Hughes, Freedom Train:

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