Happy Thanksgiving, Brandywinians. I wish there were more good hymns of thanks. Though there are probably ones that have slipped my mind.
In any case, this is the hymn of thanks they liked best at my church when I was a kid. “Thanks to God for My Redeemer,” by August Ludvig Storm (1862-1914), a Swedish Salvation Army officer.
I always found it a little disappointing, because the translation is weak. Still, my dad and my grandparents would have loved to hear it.
This Thanksgiving hymn was written by a rector of Aston Sandford, Buckinghamshire, England, named Henry Alford. He seems to have been one of those accomplished scholars who wrote many hymns, taught many students, and passed into history mostly unnoticed. The tune to this hymn was written by George Elvey for another piece, “Hark! The Song of Jubilee.”
2 All the world is God’s own field,
fruit unto his praise to yield;
wheat and tares together sown,
unto joy or sorrow grown:
first the blade, and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear:
Lord of harvest, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.
3 For the Lord our God shall come,
and shall take his harvest home;
from his field shall in that day
all offenses purge away;
give his angels charge at last
in the fire the tares to cast,
but the fruitful ears to store
in his garner evermore.
4 Even so, Lord, quickly come
to thy final harvest home;
gather thou thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin;
there forever purified,
in thy presence to abide:
come, with all thine angels, come,
raise the glorious harvest home.
Here’s a relatively new hymn set to an older and familiar tune. It’s a song of trusting the Lord with all our cares, fears, and responsibilities. I think of it as a Thanksgiving-themed song, but giving thanks is only implied.
Lord, “be thou the center of our least endeavour.
Be thou our guest, our hearts and homes to share.”
Barbara B Hart wrote the words to “A Christian Home,” or “O Give Us Homes Built Firm Upon the Savior,” in 1965. I can find nothing biographical on Hart except her year of birth. Perhaps her publisher, Singpiration Music or The Benson Company, will tell us about her one day.
The tune is “Finlandia” by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), which is also the melody for the hymn “Be Still, My Soul.” Sibelius wrote his tone poem in 1899 for the Finnish Press Pension Celebration, “a thinly veiled rally in support of freedom of the Finnish press,” according to Britannica.
The words are under copyright, so I won’t reproduce them here, but they are reproduced in the video along with additional verse, the third one, that isn’t in the Trinity hymnal I use for reference.
I don’t know how familiar American Christians are with today’s glorious hymn. It was written in 1887 by Englishman George W. Kitchin (1827-1912) of Christ Church, Oxford, as a festival-style hymn, and revised in 1916 by Englishman Michael R. Newbolt (1874-1956) into what we sing today.
It remains under copyright, so I’ll link to the song sheet so you can read or sing along with the orchestra in the video above.
You may know this hymn by another arrangement and more words. Samuel Medley wrote the words in 1775, and an uncredited someone paired it with a new refrain and this American folk melody. It’s a strong, foot-stomping song that can get a body going.
1 I know that my Redeemer lives–
glory, hallelujah!
What comfort this sweet sentence gives–
glory, hallelujah!
Refrain:
Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground–
glory, hallelujah!
The dead’s alive and the lost is found–
glory, hallelujah!
2 He lives, he lives, who once was dead–
glory, hallelujah!
He lives, my everlasting Head–
glory, hallelujah! [Refrain]
3 He lives, to bless me with his love–
glory, hallelujah!
He lives to plead for me above–
glory, hallelujah! [Refrain]
4 He lives, all glory to his name!-
glory, hallelujah!
He lives, my Jesus, still the same-
glory, hallelujah! [Refrain]
“New Songs of Celebration Render” is an adaptation of Psalm 98 taken from Calvin’s psalter using a tune by Louis Bourgeois (1510-1561) or Claude Goudimel (1505-1572). The English translation appears to be by Eric Routley in 1974 and is still under copyright, so I’ll link to a version of the lyric instead of copying it here.
This classic hymn, written by Isaac Watts in 1707, has been printed in over 2000 hymnals with one of a couple tune arrangements. The recording above pairs it with a traditional Irish song that has been called the Banks of Moorlough Shore and Foggy Dew. The mournful quality of this tune fits the words well, though they need to be rearranged.
1 Alas! and did my Savior bleed,
and did my Sov’reign die!
Would he devote that sacred head
for such a worm as I?
Was it for crimes that I had done
he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
2 Well might the sun in darkness hide,
and shut his glories in,
when Christ, the mighty Maker, died
for man the creature’s sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face
while his dear cross appears;
dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
and melt mine eyes in tears.
3 But drops of grief can ne’er repay
the debt of love I owe;
here, Lord, I give myself away,
’tis all that I can do. . . .
I have nothing to review today. That leaves me with no alternative to writing about stuff I’ve been thinking about – and that, as you know, can get weird.
Tonight’s subject, to take an example at random, is “broken rhyme.” You can find several examples of broken rhyme in the song, “Mountain Greenery,” by Rodgers and Hart, embedded above (the song was debuted on Broadway by the actor Sterling Holloway, who would live long enough to be the original voice of Winnie the Pooh in the Disney cartoons). A meme is going around Basefook where somebody asks to quote the greatest line from any song, ever. I haven’t responded to it yet, but when I do it’ll be:
We could get no keener re- ception in a beanery Bless our mountain greenery home!
That, my friends, is broken rhyme. At first I thought it was “enjambment,” and I prepared a long disquisition on that subject for this post, but then I found out enjambment is something else, so I cut that part. All in all, probably for the best.
Lorenz Hart was known for using broken rhyme in his songs. Cole Porter employs it in his song, “I Get a Kick Out of You,” where you have the lines (in the original, unexpurgated version):
Some get a kick from cocaine
I'm sure that if
I took even one sniff
That would bore me terrif-
Ically, too
Yet, I get a kick out of you
I’ve always been fascinated by broken rhyme. Love those word tricks in verse. It’s one of the reasons contemporary popular music leaves me cold. Today’s lyrics are generally simplistic, intended to be yelled. That’s why I like the old songs. There’s a station in St. Cloud, Minnesota (Uptown 1010, Ring-a-Ding Radio) that I make a point of listening to, every time I drive north on I-94. All oldies, with an emphasis on Sinatra and the crooners. Songs with lyrics worth paying attention to.
I could move on to the subject of Contemporary Christian Worship Music, but I think you can guess my opinion on that.
This classic hymn was written by English Moravian minister Christian H. Bateman (1813-1889) and is sung to a traditional Spanish melody, arranged by American Benjamin Carr. Carr studied music under Charles Wesley and Samuel Arnold.
1 Come, Christians, join to sing
Alleluia! Amen!
loud praise to Christ our King;
Alleluia! Amen!
let all, with heart and voice,
before his throne rejoice;
praise is his gracious choice:
Alleluia! Amen!
2 Come, lift your hearts on high,
Alleluia! Amen!
let praises fill the sky;
Alleluia! Amen!
he is our guide and friend,
to us he’ll condescend;
his love shall never end:
Alleluia! Amen!
3 Praise yet our Christ again;
Alleluia! Amen!
life shall not end the strain;
Alleluia! Amen!
on heaven’s blissful shore,
his goodness we’ll adore,
singing forevermore,
“Alleluia! Amen!”
This hymn is attributed to John Calvin and his arrangement of the Genevan Psalter for his congregation. He promoted lively psalms and spiritual songs in worship and leaned on such musicians as Claude Goudimel and Louis Bourgeois to compose them. This tune was published in 1551, and from what I understand was sung much quicker than the beautiful performance above.
1 I greet thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
my only trust and Savior of my heart,
who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray thee from our hearts all cares to take.
2 Thou art the King of mercy and of grace,
reigning omnipotent in ev’ry place:
so come, O King, and our whole being sway;
shine on us with the light of thy pure day.
3 Thou art the Life, by which alone we live,
and all our substance and our strength receive;
O comfort us in death’s approaching hour,
strong-hearted then to face it by thy pow’r.
4 Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness,
no harshness hast thou and no bitterness:
make us to taste the sweet grace found in thee
and ever stay in thy sweet unity.
5 Our hope is in no other save in thee;
our faith is built upon thy promise free;
O grant to us such stronger hope and sure
that we can boldly conquer and endure.