Lyr/Chords Add: Green Pastures

Subject: Lyr Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 01:07 AM

Lyrics now. Chords later. (I'm still arranging.)

Every once in awhile a song comes along that changes your life. This was one this week. Some of what happened about it is in a thread. The rest came on the heels of a sudden flash of understanding that flooded me as I sang it last week. Suddenly, I realized I knew something very important to pass on to a dear friend-- a specific piece of truth. I did pass it on, and I think that life changed too.

Here's to all the songs that come along at just the right time. And here's to friends who welcome a true thing when they hear it.

~Susan

---

GREEN PASTURES (Traditional)


Trouble and trials often betray those
Out in the weary body to stray
But we shall walk beside the still waters
With the Good Shepherd leading the way

Those who have strayed were sought by the Master
He who once gave His life for the sheep
Out on the mountain still He is searching
Bringing them in forever to keep

Going up home to live in green pastures
Where we shall live and die never more
Even the Lord will be in that number
When we shall reach that heavenly shore

We will not heed the voice of a stranger
For he would lead us all to despair
Following on with Jesus our Savior
We all shall reach that country so fair

Going up home to live in green pastures
Where we shall live and die never more
Even the Lord will be in that number
When we shall reach that heavenly shore


SOURCE:
Cowpie
From Emmylou Harris "Roses In The Snow"
Warner Brothers Records 1980
Visa Music (ASCAP)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: Charley Noble
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 11:01 AM

Susan, this is amazing! I just re-typed this lovely old revival song into my database yesterday from an old hand-typed copy. You may be interested to know that this graceful hymn dates back to 1709, being composed by Isaac Watts. Its original title was "The Hopes of Heaven Our Support Under Trials on Earth " which although to the point was quite a mouthful; they shortened the title in the hymnal to "Saints Delight." Among the folk song community, the song is probably better known as "Green Pastures." Congregations in Southern Appalachia have sung this song for well over 200 years, following the melody and harmony in their "shape-note" hymnals.

Subject: Lyr Add: SAINTS DELIGHT (Isaac Watts)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 11:11 AM

Whoops, I have mixed up two songs in my general excitment. "Saints delight" has no relation to "Green Pastures" exept for being a wonferful old hymn. I better add "Saints Delight here and slink away:

SAINTS DELIGHT
(By Isaac Watts in 1709)

When I can read my title clear
To mansions in the skies,
I'll bid farewell to every fear
And wipe my weeping eyes.

Chorus:

I feel like, I feel like,
I'm on my journey home;
I feel like, I feel like,
I'm on my journey home.

Should earth against my soul engage,
And fiery darts be hurled,
Then I can smile at Satan's rage
And face a frowning world. (CHO)

Let cares like a wild deluge come,
Let storms of sorrow fall;
So I but safely reach my home,
My God, my heaven, my all. (CHO)

There I shall bathe my weary soul,
In seas of heavenly rest,
And not a wave of trouble roll,
Across my peaceful breast. (CHO)

It's a good thing I don't go deer hunting no more!

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 11:11 AM

!*!*!*!*!*!

This signifies ecstatic jumping up and down. If I had a pogo stick I'd be at your door right now, Charley!

Are there more verses?

NOTE TO JOE OFFER-- If you decide to harvest this one for the database, and it needs editing to put in all the info that piles in, I'll be glad to do the work of putting it together. Just let me know. I will need to do that four our songsheets anyway.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: 53
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 11:13 AM

Susan,

The song is wonderful. Thanks for sharing the words and your heart warming story. Looking forward to the chords.

So, How did the sing-along go? I am sure it was fun.

RM's-me (see FYI thread for understanding)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 11:13 AM

Ah, we cross posted.

Sigh....

Oh well, it's another grand song to add!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: harpgirl
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 11:15 AM

I've listened to that Emmy Lou record a thousand times but never performed Green Pastures. Can't you use the same melody as "Farther Along" to sing it? Wait, I'll go dig it our of my four hundred pounds of records and listen. Susan, have you got the melody yet? And why aren't you in church, missy?

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: Charley Noble
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 11:21 AM

Susan, I do have a question about the first verse:

Trouble and trials often betray those
Out in the weary body to stray
But we shall walk beside the still waters
With the Good Shepherd leading the way

Out in Michigan we used to sing it like this:

Trouble and trials often betray us,
Causing our weary bodies to stray

Maybe we were dupes of folk processing or maybe we couldn't make sense of the original.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: harpgirl
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 11:26 AM

Well, they capo up to the second fret and play in A. It is a waltz tempo and easy to play. Have you got it?

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 12:14 PM

Oh I have several approaches I am considering to this one, I just am not done working it over to work for us.

BTW harp, "Missy" is in church every Saturday night, leading the music. In our denomination, Sunday AM starts Saturday evening for vigils, holy days, and so on, and a lot of churches (Episcopal and RC) have Saturday Night masses for the weekly service, for a variety of reasons. Ours is one started in response to the church's realization that the two Sunday AM serives did not meet some folks' needs and rather than change what was working so well for the large Sunday contingents, best to start a new service, and guess what? Church growth...

As far as the verse differences there-- they both make sense. I am not sure who folk-processed what, when. One of the things that caught my attention about this phrasing though (and other parts of the words too) is that it allows an ambiguous door-opening to what some people see as Eastern spiritualities.

See what I'se seein' there, anyone? *G*

BTW Charley, you reminded me to go look in Southern Harmony for GP, and I didn;t find it, but I did get lost there finding some other new stuff... *G*G*

Harp, I guess you will have to come sing it with me. You can pick the melody and I'll blast away at the rhythm. Which line do you want to sing? I wanna be Ricky, but up way high; wanna be Emmy? Then we can take off from there and go wherever it leads.... get a band... come on, ya know ya wanna.... we'll stop by for anyone else who wants to join the Green Pastures Band... get RM and his 53missus... swing by for Charley.... who else? Hardi and Sorcha can fid-duel...

~Susan

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: harpgirl
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 12:39 PM

BTW, Brian Ahern arranged that ELH version. Willie Nelson plays gut-string guitar, Jerry Douglas on Dobro, Bryan Bowers on autoharp, archtop guitar, percussion and bass is Brian Ahern, Ricky on acoustic guitar and duet vocal, and Dolly Parton sings harmony vocal. I want to be Dolly!

We did do The Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn in Medicine Wheel when I lived in Arkansas. I think I'll post that. I don't find it anywhere in the forum

Would you call your church "charismatic"? In Michigan, good Episcopalians got drunk on Saturday night and did penance on Sunday morning...hg

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 01:22 PM

Ab, our church is... all of it.

It's the only one in driving distance for the county that has a fulltime clergyperson. And it's the county seat, where a lot of flatlanders are moving as they retire to our area for the gracious and busy small town, the scenery, and the big bang for the buck. So our Episcopalians (I guess I am an E-palian! Hahahh) come from all traditions within the denomination, as well as Eastern and Russian Orthodox-raised, as well as crossovers from other denominations, as well as the previously-unchurched.

Hardi's genius is in adding what people feel is missing from their dearest traditions, rather than changing what is already there.... and everyone comes together as one big gregarious family for parish-wide events. Downside, very busy priest, but upside, a multi-talented and multi-Gifted guy has free rein to put his whole self at the service of his call, liturgically and otherwise. See? It's all come as you ARE.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: Charley Noble
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 02:51 PM

I seem to remember that the tune was very similar to "Farther Along." Our Lansing area all-women old-time band Lady of the Lake used to sing it that way, or maybe it was their earlier encarnation Bosom Buddies. It's probably a long way to commute from Maine to sing but alert me when you're planning to sing so I can join in the chorus from here.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 03:43 PM

Well Charley, if the world were working MY way this month, you and Naemanson would be coming to our Gathering! And I guess Kendall would stow away too and there'd still be room to pick up anyone else in between, like the chucks...

Maybe Lake Champlain in August.

I think the scale for the tunes is probably the same but they sound pretty different as I have heard them. They'd be good opening and closing pieces for next week's service, though. (We did do Farther Along once, and the people did fine with it, because I was very clear on the melody line and gave them a strong lead just enough ahead of the beat so they could follow eeasily.)

I have decided I will always think of this year's April Gathering as the Green Pastures Gathering, because I can look out my window and see them, while I sit here hoping to sing this next week with lots of help!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: RichM
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 11:47 PM

We sing the sedond line this way:
'Allowing the weary body to stray'

Does anyone else do this?

Rich

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Apr 01 - 02:14 AM

Hmmmm... shifts the meaning completely, doesn't it?

~S~

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: GREEN PASTURES
From: GUEST,Burke
Date: 23 Apr 01 - 10:09 PM

Another tune for this weekend & one I was trying to remember but mixed up with Saint's Bound for Heaven. Saints Delight is a great campmeeting style hymn. Watts wrote the verses but don't blame the chorus on him.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Add: Green Pastures
From: GUEST
Date: 25 May 17 - 04:33 AM

Not much like Farther Along, at all, unless there are 2 versions of one of the songs.