Keep on Walking Forward

Music and words by Pat Humphries (1984)

Photograph: Amy Jean Harding

A well-known song in the folk movement, written by Pat Humphries (of Emma’s Revolution) in 1984, Keep on Walking Forward has been passed around by word of mouth at many community gatherings and protests for change over the years. Pete Seeger said this was the best song he’d heard in 50 years. He became good friends with Pat for the rest of the nearly 30 years he was alive.

“[Pete] taught us how to sing together. But he was never satisfied with us singing in unison, he wanted us to sing in harmony … He knew the metaphor of a room full of people breathing in sync and singing in harmony wouldn’t be lost on his audiences and that we would take that sense of hope and community out into the world and put it to good use.” – Pat Humphries

That sense of hope and community is certainly present whenever Keep on Walking Forward is sung at a Big Sing gathering.