Editing We Shall Overcome (section)

==Widespread adaptation==
"We Shall Overcome" was adopted by various labor, nationalist, and political movements both during and after the [[Cold War]]. In his memoir about his years teaching English in [[Czechoslovakia]] after the [[Velvet Revolution]], Mark Allen wrote:

{{blockquote|text=In [[Prague]] in 1989, during the intense weeks of the Velvet Revolution, hundreds of thousands of people sang this haunting music in unison in [[Wenceslas Square]], both in English and in [[Czech language|Czech]], with special emphasis on the phrase 'I do believe.'  This song's message of hope gave protesters strength to carry on until the powers-that-be themselves finally gave up hope themselves.
In the Prague of 1964, Seeger was stunned to find himself being whistled and booed by crowds of [[Czechs]] when he spoke out against the [[Vietnam War]]. But those same crowds had loved and adopted his rendition of 'We Shall Overcome.' History is full of such ironies – if only you are willing to see them.|source='Prague Symphony', Praha Publishing, 2008<ref>{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Mark |title=Prague Symphony |date=2008 |publisher=Praha Publishing |page=192 |url=//worldcat.org/digitalarchive/content/server15982.contentdm.oclc.org/BSYMO/PROG/TRUSVolume6/Pub411_1959-1960_Trip_SandCam_Con01.pdf |access-date=16 October 2016}}</ref>}}

The words "We shall overcome" are sung emphatically at the end of each verse in a song of Northern Ireland's civil rights movement, ''[[Free the People (The Dubliners song)|Free the People]]'', which protested against the [[Operation Demetrius|internment policy of the British Army]].  The movement in Northern Ireland was keen to emulate the movement in the US and often sang "We shall overcome".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/derry-and-we-shall-overcome-we-plagiarised-an-entire-movement-1.2989759|last=McClements |first=Freya |date=4 March 2017 |title=Derry and 'We Shall Overcome': 'We plagiarised an entire movement'  |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |access-date=27 October 2019}}</ref>
[[File:The Obamas and the Bidens link arms and sing "We Shall Overcome", 2011.jpg|thumb|U.S. President Barack Obama, Vice President [[Joe Biden]] and their wives link arms and sing "We Shall Overcome" at the dedication of the [[Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial]] in 2011.]]
The melody was also used (crediting it to Tindley) in a symphony by American composer William Rowland.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} In 1999, [[National Public Radio]] included "We Shall Overcome" on the "NPR 100" list of most important American songs of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/100list.html|title=The NPR 100 The most important American musical works of the 20th century|website=Npr.org|access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref> As a reference to the line, in 2009, after the [[first inauguration of Barack Obama]] as the 44th [[President of the United States]], a man holding the banner, "WE HAVE OVERCOME" was seen near the Capitol, a day after hundreds of people posed with the sign on [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090129162344/http://www.mgwashington.com/index.php/herd_washington/index/we-have-overcome/2415/ "We Have Overcome"], Media General. January 20, 2009.</ref>

As the attempted [[serial killer]] "[[Lasermannen]]" shot several immigrants around [[Stockholm]] in 1992, [[Prime Minister of Sweden|Prime Minister]] [[Carl Bildt]] and Immigration Minister [[Birgit Friggebo]] attended a meeting in [[Rinkeby]]. As the audience became upset, Friggebo tried to calm them down by proposing everyone sing "We Shall Overcome". This statement is widely regarded as one of the most embarrassing moments in Swedish politics. In 2008, the newspaper ''[[Svenska Dagbladet]]'' listed the [[Sveriges Television]] recording of the event as the best political clip available on [[YouTube]].<ref>[http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/ledarbloggens-youtubiana-hela-listan_1811227.svd Ledarbloggens Youtubiana – hela listan!] ''Svenska Dagbladet'', 2 October 2008 {{in lang|sv}}</ref>

On June 7, 2010, [[Roger Waters]] of [[Pink Floyd]] fame released a new version of the song as a protest against the [[Israel]]i blockade of [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]].<ref>[http://www.floydianslip.com/news/2010/06/roger-waters-releases-we-shall-overcome-video/ Roger Waters releases "We Shall Overcome" video], ''Floydian Slip'', June 7, 2010</ref>

On July 22, 2012, [[Bruce Springsteen]] performed the song during the memorial-concert in Oslo after the [[2011 Norway attacks|terrorist attacks in Norway]] on July 22, 2011.

In [[India]], the renowned poet [[Girija Kumar Mathur]] composed a literal translation in [[Hindi]] "''Hum Honge Kaamyab (हम होंगे कामयाब)''" which became a popular patriotic/spiritual song during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in schools.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lyrics of Hum Honge Kaamyab (Hindi)|url=http://www.prayogshala.com/poems/hum-honge-kaamyab|website=Prayogshala.com|access-date=9 February 2017}}</ref> This song also came to be used by the [[Blue Pilgrims]] for motivating the [[India men's national football team|India national football team]] during international matches.

In [[Bengali language|Bengali]]-speaking India and [[Bangladesh]], there are two versions, both of which are popular among schoolchildren and political activists. "''Amra Korbo Joy''" (আমরা করবো জয়)”, is a literal translation by Bengali folk singer [[Hemanga Biswas]], re-recorded by [[Bhupen Hazarika]]. Hazarika, who had heard the song during his days in the United States, also translated the song to [[Assamese language|Assamese]] as "''Ami hom xophol''" (আমি হ'ম সফল).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dutta|first=Pranjal|title=The African American Bhupen Hazarika|work=[[The Sentinel (Guwahati)|The Sentinel]]|url=https://www.sentinelassam.com/editorial/the-african-american-bhupen-hazarika-509971}}</ref> Another version, translated by [[Shibdas Bandyopadhyay]], "''Ek Din Shurjer Bhor''" (এক দিন সূর্যের ভোর, literally "''One Day The Sun Will Rise''") was arranged by [[Ruma Guha Thakurta]] and recorded by the [[Calcutta Youth Choir]] during the 1971 [[Bangladesh War of Independence]], becoming one of the bestselling Bengali records. It was a favorite of [[Prime Minister of Bangladesh|Prime Minister]] [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]], and it was regularly sung at public events after Bangladesh gained its independence in the early 1970s.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}

In the Indian [[States and union territories of India|state]] of [[Kerala]], a traditional [[Communism|Communist]] stronghold, the song became popular on college campuses during the late 1970s. It was the struggle song of the [[Students Federation of India]] (SFI), the largest student organisation in the country. The song translated into the local [[Malayalam]] as “''Nammal Vijayikkum”'' by SFI activist [[N. P. Chandrasekharan]], using the same tune of the original. Later, it was published in ''[[Student (SFI newspaper)|Student]]'', the monthly magazine of SFI in Malayalam as well as in ''Sarvadesheeya Ganangal'' (Mythri Books, Thiruvananthapuram), a translation of international struggle songs.

"We Shall Overcome" was a prominent song in the 2010 [[Bollywood]] film ''[[My Name is Khan]]'', which compared the struggle of [[Muslims]] in modern [[United States|America]] with the struggles of [[African Americans]] in the past. The song was sung in both [[English language|English]] and [[Hindi]] in the film, which starred [[Kajol]] and [[Shah Rukh Khan|Shahrukh Khan]].

In 2014, a recording of ''We Shall Overcome'' arranged by composer [[Nolan Williams Jr.]] and featuring [[mezzo-soprano]] [[Denyce Graves]] was among several works of art, including the poem ''[[A Brave and Startling Truth]]'' by [[Maya Angelou]], were sent to space on the first test flight of the spacecraft [[Orion (spacecraft)|Orion]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Siceloff |first1=Steven |title=Orion Flight Test to Carry Mementos and Inspirational Items |url=https://www.nasa.gov/content/orion-flight-test-to-carry-mementos-and-inspirational-items |website=NASA |access-date=22 October 2021 |date=25 Nov 2014}}</ref>

The [[Argentines|Argentine]] writer and singer [[María Elena Walsh]] wrote a Spanish version called "''Venceremos''".<ref>{{cite news |title=Maria Elena Walsh, Argentine writer and singer, dies at 80 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/maria-elena-walsh-argentine-writer-and-singer-dies-at-80/2011/01/11/ABIM4JJ_story.html |access-date=7 August 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |agency=Associated Press |date=11 January 2011}}</ref>

[[Celtic punk]] band [[Dropkick Murphys]] released their version of the song as a single and music video in 2022. Their version can also be found on the expanded edition of their 2021 album, ''[[Turn Up That Dial]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dropkick Murphys "We Shall Overcome" (Music Video) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsrYA28CtYQ |access-date=10 March 2023 |newspaper=YouTube |date=15 March 2022}}</ref>