Kum Ba Yah

Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah!
Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah!
Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah!
O Lord, kum ba yah!

Someone’s laughing, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone’s laughing, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone’s laughing, Lord, kum ba yah!
O Lord, kum ba yah!

Someone’s crying, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone’s crying, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone’s crying, Lord, kum ba yah!
O Lord, kum ba yah!

Someone’s praying, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone’s praying, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone’s praying, Lord, kum ba yah!
O Lord, kum ba yah!

Someone’s singing, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone’s singing, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone’s singing, Lord, kum ba yah!
O Lord, kum ba yah!

Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah!
Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah!
Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah!
O Lord, kum ba yah!

Author: Unknown

Year: 1926

Traditional African-American spiritual of Gullah origin from the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia. First documented in 1926 by a student at the Penn School on St. Helena Island; no single author is known. Popularized in the 1950s–60s folk revival with added verses.