Songs We Sing — “Amen”

Hello Song Leaders!

“Amen” is a classic from the African-American gospel tradition.

We use it as a post-cleanup regathering song, to celebrate the end of cleanup and take collections for Saint Lydia’s and the Trinity Lower East Side soup kitchen.

The song has one word — amen — which is sung over and over and over.  But you can swap in other words, including freedom or whatever the spirit leads you to add.

Here’s a version by Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions.  We perform it a little more uptempo and will leave out the Christmasy lines about the baby Jesus lying in a manger.  In lieu of those, you can sing hallelujah!

And handclaps (on two and four, please) always help.

Happy Amening!