VocalEssence Chorus, VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, VocalEssence Singers of This Age, VocalEssence Vintage Voices, orchestra, Traiveon Dunlap, soloist, Brianna Hill, spoken word

from the movie Selma

GLORY (from Selma)
John Stephens, Lonnie Lynn, & Che Smith, arr. Mark Brymer

Refrain: One day, when the glory comes,
It will be ours, it will be ours.
Oh, one day, when the war is won,
We will be sure, we will be here sure.
Oh, glory.

Spoken word
Hands to the Heavens, no man, no weapon
Formed against; yes, glory is destined.
Every day women and men become legends.
Sins that go against our skin become blessings.
The movement is a rhythm to us.
Freedom is like religion to us.
Justice is juxtaposition in us.
Justice for all just ain’t specific enough.
One son died, his spirit is revisitin’ us.
True and livin’ livin’ in us; resistance is us.
That’s why Rosa sat on the bus,
That’s why we walk through Ferguson with our hands up.
When it go down, we womaned and manned up,
They say, “Stay down” and we stand up.
Shots, we on the ground, the camera panned up,
King pointed to the mountain top and we ran up. Refrain:

Now the war is not over; victory isn’t won.
But we’ll fight on to the finish, and then when it’s all done,
We’ll cry glory, oh glory. Refrain:

Spoken word
Selma’s now for every man, woman and child,
Even Jesus got his crown in front of a crowd.
They marched with the torch, we gon’ run with it now,
Never look back, we done gone hundreds of miles.
From dark roads he rose to become a hero;
Facing the league of justice, his power was the people.
Enemy is lethal, a king became regal,
Saw the face of Jim Crow under a bald eagle.
The biggest weapon is to stay peaceful.
We sing. Our music is the cuts that we bleed through.
Somewhere in the dream we had an epiphany,
Now we right the wrongs in history.
No one can win the war individually.
It takes the wisdom of the elders, the young people’s energy.
Welcome to the story we call victory,
The coming of the Lord, my eyes have seen the glory. Refrain:
—Words and music by John Stephens, Lonnie Lynn, &
Che Smith, arr. Mark Brymer