Hymn of the Week: November 16, 2020

Hymn of the Week:
Simple Gifts

Song by Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett 1848

Simple Gifts

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 our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right

The song composed in 1848 by Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett as an easy-to-learn tune for Shaker worship -- extolling the virtues of a simple life -- has become one of America's most popular all-purpose melodies

When he wrote the song, Brackett was a 51-year-old Shaker leader in what is today Sabbathday Lake, Maine, which remains the home of the last seven members of the dwindling church. Not much else is known about Brackett, not even the date of composition.

"During the middle of the 19th century, the Shakers composed an incredible number of songs -- over 12,000," Hall says.

Shakers were as vigorous in their worship as they were in their work. They were Christians who believed that Jesus would return to judge the world, so they had better be ready. Men and women were separated in Shaker villages and agreed to lead celibate lives. They lived simply, with few personal possessions.

Their workshops, which supported their villages, were famous for their creativity. Shakers invented the common flat broom and were the first in the country to sell garden seeds in paper packets. They were not shy about sharing their products or their songs with the public, because the survival of their celibate church depended on recruiting new members.

The one time each week when everyone stopped working and men and women mingled was during worship, which involved singing and dancing that sometimes got so wild that outsiders gave the group its common name, Shakers.

Shakers might have frowned at the pyrotechnics in Flatley's Irish revue, but they certainly wanted people to kick up their heels to the tune, scholars agree.

" 'Simple Gifts' was a dancing song. The Shakers called it a quick dance," Hall says. "There are words in the song about bowing and bending and turning, and the Shakers actually did that as they sang those words. The song was both an instruction for dancing as well as an instruction for life."

The song was limited to the Shakers until Copland popularized the melody in his 1944 ballet score, "Appalachian Spring." In the 1960s, Carter's hymn carried the tune into churches. It wasn't until 1970 that folk singer Judy Collins resurrected the original words of "Simple Gifts" and performed it nationwide.

Two years ago, the Music Educators National Conference -- the professional organization for U.S. music teachers -- named it among a handful of songs that every American should know. Teachers ranked it with the National Anthem, "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Home on the Range."

"And I've talked with kids in elementary and high schools about it, too. Any youngster can tell you what this song means: Simplicity is sometimes better than complexity, and we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously."

Enjoy the Bell ensemble version of this treasured hymn. Performed by Ruth Sawyer, Leda Rutledge, Suzy Henry, and Austin McElroy.