Simple Gifts
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Shaker hymn
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Transcription: 06/29/2022 01:37:08 by Darryl D. Bush
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Lyrics:
'Tis the gift to be simple,
'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down
where you 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 gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.
To turn, turn, will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come out right.
"Simple Gifts" is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848, generally attributed to<br> Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett (1797–1882) from the Alfred, Maine Shaker Village.<br> A lifelong resident of Maine, he first joined the Shakers at Gorham when his father's<br> farm helped to form the nucleus of a new Shaker settlement.<br> Some Shakers attribute the origin to a "Negro spirit" heard at Canterbury,<br> New Hampshire, which would make the song a "gift song" received from the spirit world.<br> The song was largely unknown outside Shaker communities until Aaron Copland used its<br> melody for the score of Martha Graham's ballet, Appalachian Spring, first performed<br> in 1944. He used "Simple Gifts" a second time in 1950 in his first set of Old<br> American Songs for Voice and Piano, which was later orchestrated.<br> English songwriter Sydney Carter adapted the Shaker tune for his song<br> "Lord of the Dance",<br> first published in 1963. His lyrics were adapted by Ronan Hardiman for Michael<br> Flatley's dance musical Lord of the Dance which opened in 1996. The melody is used<br> at various points throughout the show, including the title piece entitled "Lord of<br> the Dance".<br> It was recorded by<br> Judy Collins on Whales & Nightingales (1970),<br> George & Gerry Armstrong on Simple Gifts (1961),<br> Ed McCurdy on A Treasure Chest of American Folk Song (1961),<br> Carolyn Hester on This Life I'm Living (1963) (as "'Tis the Gift to Be Simple"),<br> and many others, both vocals and instrumemntals.<br> It has been printed in too many songbooks to list.<br>
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