sentences:  The song became one of the first African American spirituals to become popular among white Christians.Paul Robeson sang and later recorded an "a cappella" version, and the American labor movement used the song in the 1930s (sometimes altering the lyrics to reflect the industry being organized).Noted American folk singer Pete Seeger began singing the song some time in the 1930s or 1940s, and in the mid to late 1960s added a new verse ("We are dancing Sarah's circle") to reflect, as he saw it, a more feminist, less hierarchical, less restrictive, and more joyful meaning.