Cover Me: This Little Light of Mine

It’s unclear where and from whom “This Little Light of Mine” originated. Wikipedia attributes it to the white composer Harry Dixon Loes, but researchers have cast doubt on that.

What is clear is the role the song plays in American culture. It’s one of the most enduring folk and gospel songs that children learn in school, church, even on TV.

It endures for a reason: we have it at the ready when the world challenges us to maintain our faith and resolve–most often when our rights or the rights of our fellow citizens are at risk, as was the case of perhaps the most famous version of the song, by Bettie Mae Fikes.

“This Little Light of Mine” is a song of defiance, steadfastness, and unity–a perfect candidate for adoption by the Civil Rights Movement, particularly after Pete Seeger popularized the version taught to him by Zilphia Horton in the 1960s.

“This Little Light of Mine” has been a part of protest culture ever since, as recently and famously as the tragic events of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, where protesters used the song to drown out white nationalists.

So it was a perfect candidate for inclusion on Bruce Springsteen’s Seeger Sessions Tour, too, although Bruce didn’t introduce it until the tour’s final leg.

Prior to the final European leg of the tour, Bruce had been closing most of his shows with “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Over the summer, however, Bruce had debuted and released a new song, “American Land,” which in the autumn became the new show closer, ending each night on an appropriately upbeat and fiery note.

However, Bruce realized he needed a segue between the quiet “Saints” and the defiant “American Land,” and “This Little Light of Mine” proved just the ticket, ramping up the energy while bridging the tone. As the final leg progressed, it also grew into a spotlight for the amazing voice of backup singer Cindy Mizelle.

“This Little Light of Mine” made its E Street Band debut several years later when the Wrecking Ball Tour stopped in Belfast, where he both opened and closed the show with it.

After a few outings on the Wrecking Ball Tour, Bruce played “This Little Light of Mine” only once more: at his second show in Cape Town, South Africa on the High Hopes Tour, closing a Sessions-heavy set list with it on the night after Pete Seeger passed away at the age of 94.

Bruce may not have performed it since, but you can bet it hasn’t gone unsung. With all that’s going on in the world as of this writing, we can bet that someone, somewhere is singing “This Little Light of Mine” right now.

This Little Light of Mine
First performed: October 1, 2006 (Bologna, Italy)
Last performed: January 28, 2014 (Cape Town, South Africa)

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