Friday, November 6, 2009

Simple Gifts


Traditional Shaker
Rise up Singing chapter: Faith, p.47
D - / A - / D - A GD /
DA D / - A / D - / A GD

I sometimes play a straight D with no switch to A on the first bar of the second line ("When true simplicity is gained...") like this:
D - / A - / D - A GD /
D - / - A / D - / A GD

'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 garden of love and delight

When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed
To turn, turn will be our delight
Til by turning, turning we come 'round right

Also possible (this is what I always thought it was):
'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free
'Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be...

And there's a new version written by Victor Ferkiss and Landon Dowdey:

The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof
Its streets, its slums, as well as the stars above
Salvation is here where we laugh, where we cry
Where we seek and love, where we live and die
When true liberty is found
By fear and hate we will no more be bound
In love and in life we will find a new birth
In peace and in freedom redeem the earth

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