Traditional African American Spiritual

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round was originally an African American Gospel spiritual that probably arose around the turn of the 20th century,. In the 1960s, it became an important song during the civil rights movement. The author (or authors) is unknown. Like many other civil rights songs, Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round was sung in unison so those singing it knew in advance which verses were to be sung, and in which order. Interestingly, the lyrics have always been rather fluid and in fact, the original title was even changed over time. When it was written, the spiritual was called Don’t You Let Nobody Turn You Around and its earliest renditions were probably sung using a “call & response” pattern. In the protest-oriented versions, the line "walkin' into Glory land" or "walkin' into Heaven land" was replaced with the line, "marchin' into Freedom land".