"Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" is a folk song that became influential during the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
Although the song was composed as a hymn well before World War I, the lyrics to this version were written by civil rights activist Alice Wine in 1956. It is based on the traditional song, "Gospel Plow", also known as "Hold On", "Keep Your Hand on the Plow", and various permutations thereof. The title is a reference to the Bible verse in Phillipians 3:17 "keep your eyes on those who live as we do" and verse 14, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Notable recordings include those by Duke Ellington featuring Mahalia Jackson, Odetta, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, and Mavis Staples.
The noted 1987 PBS documentary series about the civil rights movement, Eyes on the Prize, was named for the song.
Read more about Keep Your Eyes On The Prize: Published Versions
Famous quotes containing the words eyes and/or prize:
“The square dance fiddler’s first concern is to carry a tune, but he must carry it loud enough to be heard over the noise of stamping feet, the cries of the “caller,” and the shouts of the dancers. When he fiddles, he “fiddles all over”; feet, hands, knees, head, and eyes are all busy.”
—State of Oklahoma, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“What we have we prize not to the worth
Whiles we enjoy it, but being lacked and lost,
Why, then we rack the value, then we find
The virtue that possession would not show us
Whiles it was ours.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)