"Amen" is a traditional folk gospel song that was popularized by The Impressions. It was recorded in June 1948 and released in January 1949 by the Wings Over Jordan Choir. The song was arranged by Jester Hairston, for the Sidney Poitier film Lilies of the Field (1963), which popularized the song. Curtis Mayfield said "I'd gone to see 'Lilies of The Field,' and the song in it, 'Amen,' was very inspiring for me as was the movie . . . Of course, I'd decided to do a version of it. We put it together in the studio starting off with a musical 'swing low sweet chariot', and then we fell into that particular song with somewhat of a marching rhythm." The song was the first Impressions' hit that Mayfield did not write. Mayfield inserted the title of the song "Keep on Pushing", which was recorded by