Amanda Gorman
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II

Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration Speech Gets Set To Music: Listen

Alongside the outstanding Presidential inauguration performances by Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, and Garth Brooks, 22-year-old poet laureate Amanda Gorman’s reading left a lasting impression.

Gorman’s poem, “The Hill We Climb,” echoed President Joe Biden’s address that brought optimism to a country in dire need of better times. Given its impact on the public at large, Seattle radio station, KEXP DJ Cheryl Waters set Gorman’s poem to “Zion” by Seattle funk-rock ensemble Polyrhythmics.

Though not uncommon for poetry to be set to music, the Seattle-based smooth, low-key electronic offering came as surprise on Wednesday, just several hours after the 22-year old author delivered the poem live at The Capital building.

While the track is not available as an official release the piece will be available to listeners for the next two weeks via KEXP’s streaming archive, free mobile app, or at this link, by entering the date and time, which is: 1/20/21 at 12 p.m. Because KEXP is on Pacific time anyone wishing to hear the song should adjust to their time zone, i.e. 3 p.m. East Coast time, 2 p.m. Central, etc.

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Photo: Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II