The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #32543 Message #3939106
Posted By: Nigel Parsons
24-Jul-18 - 04:55 AM
Thread Name: ADD: Simple Gifts - alt lyrics
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Simple Gifts - alt lyrics?
I notice that the DT entries give the tune title as 'Lordance'. Without checking them all, and seeing that one says "This sings well to the tune 'Lord of the Dance'," I wonder whether a shortcut has been taken. When Sydney Carter wrote 'Lord of the Dance' he used the tune from 'Simple Gifts', but made changes to allow for a different scansion. So here is the tune for Simple Gifts as shown in the book mentioned in my previous post. For some reason the ABC converter at MandolinTab converts the leading apostrophes to raised dashes. I've tried a 'search & replace' with no success.
SIMPLE GIFTS American 'shaker' song
‘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.
Chorus 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.
’Tis the gift to have sympathy between me and you, ‘Tis the gift to keep at what you ought to do; And if you have your eyes on the skies above, ‘Twill be in the valley of joy and love.
X: 1 T: Simple Gifts M: 2/4 L: 1/8 Q:90 Z: NP 24/07/18 K: Ab E/E/| AA/B/ c/A/c/d/| ee/d/ cB/A/| BB BA | B/c/B/G/ EE| A/G/A/B/ (c/B/)c/d/| e(e/d/) cB/A/| BB cc/B/| AA/A/ A2| e2 c3/2B/| c/d/c/B/ A3/2B/| cc/d/ e(d/c/)| BB/c/ BE| A2 A3/2B/ | cc/d/ ed/c/| BB cc/B/| AA A|| w: ‘Tis the gift to be sim-ple, ‘tis the gift to be free, ‘Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be; And when we find our-selves_ in the place just_ right, ‘Twill be in the val-ley of love and de-light. When true sim-pli-ci-ty is gained, To bow and to bend we_ shan’t be a-shamed. To turn, turn will be our de-light, Till by turn-ing, turn-ing we come out right. w:’Tis the gift to have sym-pa-thy be-tween me and you, ‘Tis the gift to keep at what you ought to do; And if you have your eyes_ on the skies a_bove, ‘Twill be in the val-ley of joy and_ love.
From "Twenty-One Folk Songs from Many Lands" by Roger Fiske and J.P.B.Dobbs Oxford University Press copyright 1964 The date of the booklet suggests that this book may have been 'in production' before Sydney Carter's use of the tune became popular. NP