This is a 1860s slave spiritual; Pete Seeger used this song during a textile workers’ protest in the 1940s but changed the lyrics in the chorus to “workers of the south.”
We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder
We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder
We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder
Brothers, sisters, all.
Every round goes higher, higher
Every round goes higher, higher
Every round goes higher, higher
Brothers, sisters, all.
We are climbing higher, higher
We are climbing higher, higher
We are climbing higher, higher
Brothers, sisters, all.