U Street Corridor in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
"Old Man River"
Paul Robeson is cast as the stevedore Joe in the musical Showboat, music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.
Robeson sings the show's most memorable song "Old Man River" which he would later change the lyrics to become a song of resistance and perseverance.
Hammerstein: "Ah gets weary/ and sick of tryin; Ah'm tire of livin'/ and skeered of dyin':"
Robeson sang: "But I keeps laffin'/ Instead of cryin'/ I must keep fightin';/ Until I'm dyin'"
Erected 2015 by DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment.
Location. 38° 55.031′ N, 77° 1.865′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in U Street Corridor. It can be reached from U Street Northwest east of 14th Street Northwest, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1351 U Street Northwest, Washington DC 20009, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" (here, next to this marker); "No More Auction Block For Me" (here, next to this marker); "Wade in the Water"
this page online
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 29, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 476 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 29, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 2. submitted on December 5, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on December 29, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
