Eyes on the Prize (Keep Your Eyes on the Prize) - Chords, Lyrics and Origins
Origins
Recorded famously by Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen and others, Eyes on the Prize (or 'Keep Your Eyes on the Prize' as it is sometimes known), developed from an earlier black American gospel song usually known as 'Keep Your Hands on the Plow', with which it shares chords, a tune and some lyrics (you can find the lyrics to 'Keep Your Hands on the Plow' here). It became one of the emblematic songs of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s. 'Keep Your Hands on the Plow' and 'Eyes on the Prize' both include verses about the jailing of the apostles Paul and Silas. As detailed in Acts 16 of the Bible, they pair were first severely beaten and then unjustly imprisoned in Phillippi. Their crime was to cast a demon out of an enslaved fortune teller, thus depriving her master of income, as without the demon she could no longer see the future. In the middle of the night, as the jailed Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns, there was a powerful earthquake, "the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose." It's easy to see why this biblical reference might have resonated so powerfully with black Americans fighting for justice.
If you have Spotify installed on your computer, follow this link for Pete Seeger's explanation of how the song developed from its gospel roots. Possibly driven by an activist named Alice Wine, the refrain was changed from 'Keep your hands on the plow' (itself a biblical reference) to 'Keep your eyes on the prize' (another biblical reference, since the Apostle Paul likened salvation to a prize to be won). The immediate prize, in this case, was racial equality. There is a longer discussion of the song's origins here.
Click here to listen to Eyes on the Prize (Keep Your Eyes on the Prize) in Spotify.
Chords
Capo at 5th Fret
Am
Paul and Silas bound in jail
Am
Had no money for to go their bail
Am G
Keep your eyes on the prize
Am G Am
Hold on, hold on
Am
Paul and Silas thought they was lost
Am
Dungeon shook and the chains fell off
Am G
Keep your eyes on the prize
Am G Am
Hold on, hold on
Chorus
C Am
Hold on, hold on
Am G
Keep your eyes on the prize
Am G Am
Hold on, hold on
Lyrics
Paul and Silas bound in jail
Had no money for to go their bail
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
Paul and Silas thought they was lost
Dungeon shook and the chains fell off
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
The only thing that we did was wrong
Was staying' in the wilderness too long
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
The only thing we did was right
Was the day we begun to fight
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
Freedom's name is mighty sweet
One day soon we're gonna meet
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
Got my hand on the gospel plow
Won't take nothing for my journey now
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
And some possible alternative verses:
Only chain that a man can stand
Is that chain o'hand on hand
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
We're gonna board that big Greyhound,
Carryin’ love from town to town.
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
We're gonna ride for civil rights,
We’re gonna ride both black and white.
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on
We've met jail and violence too,
But God's love has seen us through.
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, hold on