Shaker
and
Non-Shaker Tunes

 

• "How Can I Keep From Singing?"
• "Lord of the Dance" and "Simple Gifts" (Tis the gift to be simple)
• "Run Shaker Life" and "Come Life, Shaker Life"
• "The Spiritual Sailor" and "Voyage to Canaan"
• "Willow Tree" (I Will Bow and Be Simple)
• Original Shaker Music Recordings

    "How Can I Keep From Singing?"

              By Roger Hall

Original first verse:

My life flows on in endless song;

Above Earth's lamentation,

I catch the sweet, tho' far off hymn

That hails a new creation;

Through all the tumult and strife,

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul -

How can I keep from singing?

There has been a lot of confusion about this hymn.

In 1956, an additional verse was written by Doris Plenn and it was published by Pete Seeger in Sing Out! magazine (Vol. 7 No. 1, 1957). Because she had learned it from her grandmother, who said it came from the Quaker tradition, Seeger identified it that way.  But it is not a Quaker hymn.  

Then nearly 40 years later, on the Platinum Plus selling CD, Shepherd Moons, this hymn was sensitively sung by Enya in an ethereal arrangement by her and Nicky Ryan. But unfortunately "How Can I Keep From Singing"was incorrectly identified as being a "Traditional Shaker Hymn."  That's incorrect. This was discovered and has now been corrected on the Enya website.  If you wish to hear Enya's performance of "How Can I Keep From Singing," order her CD at this link:

Shepherd Moons

Then who did write this inspiring hymn?

It was written by Rev. Robert Lowry (1826-1899). He also wrote the popular Gospel hymn, "Shall We Gather At The River."

"How Can I Keep From Singing?" was first published in a book titled: Bright Jewels for the Sunday School (New York: Bigelow & Main, 1869).     Rev. Lowry is identified as the editor of this book.  On page 16, in the upper right hand corner of "How Can I Keep From Singing" are the initials: "R.L." ( Robert Lowry).  So he is definitely the composer of this Sunday School hymn.  The author of the hymn text is Anne B. Warner.  

Pass the word along... 

"How Can I Keep From Singing" is NOT a Quaker or a Shaker hymn.

Instead, it should be credited to Rev. Robert Lowry, who wrote this beautiful hymn.

"Lord of the Dance"

and

"Simple Gifts"
('Tis the gift to be simple)

        By Roger Hall

       "Lord of the Dance"

Chorus to the song:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,

I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,

And I'll lead you all, whereever you may be,

And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

This is a very popular religious folk hymn and deservedly so.

Unfortunately, it has been incorrectly identified. This is partly because of the video and CD, Lord of the Dance, starring Michael Flatley - the dancer one newspaper reporter named  - "Lord of the Pants." In interviews Flatley first claimed that "Lord of the Dance" was a Celtic folk song and then said it was a Shaker song.  

Neither is true.  

"Lord of the Dance" was written by English songwriter and poet, Sydney Carter.  

He was born on May 6, 1915 - the same day as Elder Joseph Brackett.  What a coincidence!  When I wrote to Sydney Carter, he was very surprised to learn that fact, but also was very pleased.

Carter wrote "Lord of the Dance" in 1963, with 5 verses of original words, and based his tune on "Simple Gifts."  

Sydney Carter wrote it and he should be credited for it.

To hear a lively arrangement of both "Simple Gifts" and "Lord of the Dance," order the OMEGA CD:

Simple Gifts - Benjamin Luxon and Bill Crofut Sing Folk Songs at Tanglewood  

Note:  It is with great sadness to report that Sydney Carter died on March 13, 2004.  

For information about him and the authentic words to "Lord of the Dance," go to his music publisher's site at:

Stainer & Bell 

 "Simple Gifts"

Complete words to the song:                    

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be out delight

'Till by turning, turning we come round right.  

There is so much confusion about this popular Shaker song, that it's time - as the song says - "we come round right."

First -   notice that the opening lines are not - "Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free."

Somehow these lines have been changed by folk singers over the years.  It should be: "Tis the gift to be simple." To the Shakers, that's a big difference! They are talking about the spiritual gift from God, not just any gift.  

Second - "Simple Gifts" is usually identified either as a "Traditional Shaker Hymn" or as a "work song."

Actually, it's neither a hymn nor a work song.  

Shaker hymns have two or more stanzas of text.

This song has only one stanza.  If you look closely at the words, you'll notice such lines as: "To turn, turn will be our delight" and "'Till by turning, turning we come round right."

These are dance instructions. Several Shaker manuscripts identify this tune as a "Dancing Song."

The classification of "Simple Gifts" as a work song might be because Shaker dances were also called laboring songs.  But that doesn't mean that they sang this song while working in the fields or ironing clothes.

To the Shakers, laboring was a spiritual exercise to cleanse them of worldly thoughts and desires.  

Third - many authors have failed to identify Elder Joseph Brackett as the composer of "Simple Gifts" and give the wrong date.  

But the Shakers have long believed that Elder Joseph wrote the song.  Some non-Shaker authors have written he wrote it in 1875. That is incorrect.  Elder Joseph's dance song was written in 1848 at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine.

In an article by Sister Mildred Barker in 1967, she mentions Elder Joseph as the composer of this ance song. She had lived her youth at the Shaker community in Alfred, and learned that Elder Joseph's song was written there.  

There is also ample evidence in Shaker manuscripts that he wrote "Simple Gifts."                  

Elder Joseph Brackett Jr. was born on May 6, 1797 in Cumberland, Maine.  

He died on July 4, 1882 at New Gloucester, Maine.  

His portrait still hangs today along with other Shaker leaders at the last remaining Shaker community in Sabbathday Lake, Maine.  

To read more about the song, see this entry in Wikipedia:

Simple Gifts     

Publications about "Simple Gifts"

THE STORY OF SIMPLE GIFTS - Joseph Brackett's Shaker Dance Song (PineTree Press, 2006)

This eBook has more information about "Simple Gifts" than you'll find anywhere else, including:

• A biographical sketch of Elder Joseph Brackett
• Complete words and music of the song
• An exclusive interview with composer Aaron Copland about his arrangements and other information
• Extensive biliography
• List of recommended recordings

A GUIDE TO SHAKER MUSIC (6th edition, PineTree Press 2006)

This guide includes a chronology of Shaker music, where to find manuscripts and arrangements, and other reference information.  The music supplement has Shaker tunes and texts arranged for solo voice and chorus.     

THE STORY OF SIMPLE GIFTS
and
A GUIDE TO SHAKER MUSIC
can be ordered at the

Store

"Run, Shaker Life"

and

"Come Life, Shaker Life"

        By Roger Hall

 "Run, Shaker Life"

This song first appeared in 1967 and was published in 1972 with words and music credited to
singer-songwriter, Richie Havens. No mention is made of the original Shaker dance song.

Apparently that error was discovered because on the CD:  The Best of Richie Havens - The Millennium Collection, he is credited with arranging and adapting "Run, Shaker Life."  But there is still no mention of the composer of the Shaker song...

 "Come Life, Shaker Life"

This dance song was written by Elder Issachar Bates at the Shaker community in
New Lebanon, New York in 1835.  And his words are nearly identicial to those credited to
Richie Havens. If you don't believe it,  just look at the lyrics for both songs:

The references to " David" and " Michael" are from the Old Testament (II. SAMUEL. 6:16):

"And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart."

This Old Testament passage was one used as a defense for dancing in Shaker worship.

For more information about the Shaker song, write to:

"Come Life, Shaker Life" - The Life and Music of Elder Joseph Brackett

"The Spiritual Sailor"

and

"Voyage to Canaan"

        By Roger Hall

 "The Spiritual Sailor"

On the Boston Camerata CD, Simple Gifts - Shaker Chants and Spirituals, Joel Cohen wrote this for Track 31:

"One of the few Shaker songs to have 'crossed over' into the larger American folk-hymn tradition, "The Spiritual sailor" was included in reprints of The Sacred Harp until the most recent 1991 edition of that songbook."

Sorry but that's incorrect.  

While it's true that "The Spiritual sailor" was found in The Sacred Harp (and also an earlier tunebook, The Southern Harmony ), the hymn is credited there to "I. Neighbours" (who was not a Shaker) and the source indicated as the " Dover Selection."  

Yet there was a Shaker hymn with very similar text and tune to "The Spiritual Sailor."

 "Voyage to Canaan"

That Shaker hymn was written about 1810 by Elder Richard McNemar and titled:
"Voyage to Canaan."

Here is the first verse of the Shaker hymn:

A people called Christians,

How many things they tell,

About a land of Canaan,

Where saints and angels dwell;

But sin, that dreadful Ocean

Encloses them around,

With its tides, still divides

Them from Canaan's happy ground.

This is the Shaker hymn that Joel Cohen refers to and the text and tune are similar to the Sacred Harp version.

But the Shaker hymn was never harmonized into three or four voice parts.  Only the melody was sung by the Shakers.

So did the Shaker hymn really "cross over" into another religious singing tradition?    

Probably not.  

What is more likely is the tune and the text came from an earlier camp meeting hymn from the Great Revival in the early 1800s, possibly written by I. Neighbours.  Elder Richard came out of that Great Revival as a New Light preacher in Ohio, so he probably based his hymn on the earlier camp meeting spiritual.  

That's why both the Sacred Harp and Shakers versions are so similar.  

They both come from the camp meeting hymn.

In any case, "The Spiritual sailor" is NOT a Shaker hymn.  

The Shaker hymn is titled "Voyage to Canaan."

An arrangement of this Shaker hymn is found in the Music Supplement of

A Guide to Shaker Music (6th edition)  

"Willow Tree"
(I Will Bow and Be Simple)

    By Roger Hall

Complete words to the song:                    

I will bow and be simple,

I will bow and be free

I will bow and be humble

Yea bow like the willow tree.

I will bow this is the token,

I will wear the easy yoke,

I will bow and broken,

Yea I'll fall upon the rock.

This lovely Shaker humility song has similar opening words to the best known Shaker song, "Simple Gifts" (discussed below).  

Most people know this song thanks to its appearance in The Gift to be Simple: Songs, Dances and Rituals of the American Shakers,  by Edward Deming Andrews; and in Daniel W. Patterson's collection,
The Shaker Spiritual.  

For some odd reason Andrews wrote this about one word of the song:

"In Shaker speech, 'yea' is pronounced 'ye' (as in greet)."

That is a misleading statement and Andrews gives no evidence to back it up.  

Modern Shakers have always pronounced "yea" as in "say," not pronounced it as "ye."

So if you're going to perform or record this beautiful song, please respect the Shaker tradition and pronounce the word as it is spelled: "yea."

Who wrote this beautiful Shaker song?  

All evidence seems to point to Sister Mary Hazard  (1811-1899) from the Shaker community
at New Lebanon, New York.  

It appears she wrote the song sometime around 1843.

Original Shaker Music Recordings

These two CD releases on Rounder Records, with 40 Shaker spirituals each, are the most extensive
ones featuring the Shakers singing and speaking about their music...

Early Shaker Spirituals (Rounder)

A CD collection of 40 Shaker spirituals sung by The United Society of Shakers, Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Many of the spirituals are sung by Sister R. Mildred Barker, the foremost Shaker singer of her time. The spirituals include laboring songs, gift songs, prayer songs, a hymn and anthem and several interviews with Sister Mildred Barker. Extensive notes and texts for all the music are provided by Daniel W. Patterson.

You can order from Amazon.com here:

Early Shaker Spirituals

Let Zion Move - Music of the Shakers (Rounder)

This 2 CD set includes 40 Shaker spirituals sung by the Shakers from Canterbury, New Hampshire and Sabbathday Lake, Maine. It includes a history of Shaker music narrated by Sister R. Mildred Barker and Sister Lillian Phelps. There are also interviews with Sister R. Mildred Barker, Eldress Bertha Lindsay, and Sister Lillian Phelps.

The interviews were done in 1960 by William (Bill) Randle, and in 1972 and 1980 by Roger Hall, who has compiled and written the notes for this unique historical collection.

The set also has an attractive 72 page illustrated booklet with examples of Shaker music and the words to all 40 Shaker spirituals plus a bibliography and discography.

You can order from Amazon.com at this link:

Let Zion Move: Music of the Shakers

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