ABRAHAM, MARTIN AND JOHN
Today, January 19, 2015, we celebrate the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King truly was, in his own words, "a drum major for justice," and we remember his resounding words at the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963..."I have a dream."
Just as Dr. King gave his life in pursuit of that dream, Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, and Senator Robert "Bobby" Kennedy also gave theirs.
Today, on this national holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., we are reminded of the song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion in 1968, Abraham, Martin and John.
Sheet Music
The song pays tribute to these four martyrs who were "drum majors for justice." The first three verses repeat the same words after asking these questions...
Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Has anybody here seen my old friend John?
Has anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me
where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people
But it seems
the good they die young.
I just looked 'round
and he's gone.
Then the fourth verse ties the three martyrs together...
Didn't you love the things they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, it's going to be one day.
And then then the last verse...
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin up over the hill
With Abraham, Martin and John.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Today, January 19, 2015, we celebrate the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King truly was, in his own words, "a drum major for justice," and we remember his resounding words at the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963..."I have a dream."
Just as Dr. King gave his life in pursuit of that dream, Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, and Senator Robert "Bobby" Kennedy also gave theirs.
Today, on this national holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., we are reminded of the song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion in 1968, Abraham, Martin and John.
Sheet Music
National Museum of American History
Washington, D.C.
Photo by John White (2003)
The song pays tribute to these four martyrs who were "drum majors for justice." The first three verses repeat the same words after asking these questions...
Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Has anybody here seen my old friend John?
Has anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me
where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people
But it seems
the good they die young.
I just looked 'round
and he's gone.
Then the fourth verse ties the three martyrs together...
Didn't you love the things they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, it's going to be one day.
And then then the last verse...
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin up over the hill
With Abraham, Martin and John.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Washington, D.C.
Photo by John White (2011)
