"Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" is a folk song that became influential during the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. It is based on the traditional song, "Gospel Plow," also known as "Hold On," "Keep Your Hand on the Plow," and various permutations thereof.
An early reference to the older song, "Gospel Plow," is in Alan Lomax's 1949 book Our Singing Country.[1][2][3] The book references a 1937 recording by Elihu Trusty of Paintsville, Kentucky, which is in the Library of Congress (Ref No .1397 A1). Lomax's references for Gospel Plow cite two earlier works. The first is from English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians[4][5] published in 1917, indicating that Gospel Plow dates from at least the early twentieth century. The second reference is to a 1928 book, American Negro Folk-Songs,[6][7] which shows an African-American heritage for the original song.
- ^ Lomax, John and Alan, Our Singing Country, A Second Volume of American Ballads and Folk Songs, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1949. p. 44 - 45
- ^ "Our Singing Country, online book - John Lomax page 0007". Traditionalmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ "Vaughan Williams Memorial Library - Roud Folksong and Broadside indexes". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-09-01.
- ^ Sharp, Cecil J., and Campbell, O., English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians. 2 vols. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1917. Vol. 2 p. 292
- ^ Campbell, Olive Arnold (Dame); Sharp, Cecil James (28 April 1917). "English folk songs from the southern Appalachians". New York and London : G. P. Putnam's sons. Retrieved 28 April 2021 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ White, N. L, American Negro Folk-Songs. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1928. p. 115
- ^ White, Newman Ivey (28 April 1928). American Negro Folk-songs. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674012592. Retrieved 28 April 2021 – via Google Books.