Sorry to shatter a popular myth, but this isn't a Quaker hymn after all. The myth arose out of a misunderstanding. The hymn appears in a number of standard hymnals, but without the defiant last verse. Pete Seeger learned the song from Doris Troutman Plenn, who lived, until her death a few years ago, here in Sharon, CT, where we got to know her. (We also live in Sharon.) Although Doris was reluctant to talk about it, we all know that she wrote the "Tyrants tramble" verse with the glorious final lines:

In prison cell and dungeon vile,
Our thoughts to them are winging.
When friends by shame are undefiled,
How can I keep from singing?

This reference to "friends" brought about the misunderstanding. Quaker meetings, I'm told, are traditionally silent.

Sandy