Origins: 'Harps in Heaven' in Gone To Earth film

Subject: Origins: 'Harps in Heaven' in Gone To Earth film
From: GUEST,Greenfield
Date: 10 Mar 25 - 05:59 AM

Hello everyone.

I'm wondering if someone can help. I was watching the 1950 film Gone To Earth starring Jennifer Jones, and got to wondering about the lovely 'Harps in Heaven' song. The lyrics were included in the original book by Mary Webb, I know, and Barry Dransfield did a version on his album Unruly to a different tune, but while there are songs with the same name, I've never seen it anywhere else. Does anyone here sing it/ has anyone heard it performed live?

I can't find the origins of the film's tune anywhere. I assume Brian Easdale the composer wrote it, therefore, but the song details only state that it was a traditional song which he arranged. I wonder if anyone more knowledgable than me might know more?

Many thanks as ever,

GF

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Harps in Heaven' in Gone To Earth film
From: cnd
Date: 10 Mar 25 - 08:28 AM

Not much to add yet, but here's the lyrics, as printed in Gone To Earth (1917). You can also listen to the 1950 film rendition here, though the lyrics were changed slightly (the 2nd stanza repeats the last two lines of the first rather than what's printed below).

"Harps in heaven played for you;
Played for Christ with his eyes so blue;
Played for Peter and for Paul,
But never played for me at all!

"Harps in heaven, made all of glass.
Greener than the rainy grass.
Ne'er a one but is bespoken.
And mine is broken—mine is broken!

"Harps in heaven play high, play low;
In the cold, rainy wind I go
To find my harp, as green as spring—
My splintered harp without a string!"

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Harps in Heaven' in Gone To Earth film
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Mar 25 - 06:40 AM

Thanks for adding these. The lyric change works better, in my opinion with (presumably?) Easdale’s film tune. Barry Dransfield reverts to original words on his version.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Harps in Heaven' in Gone To Earth film
From: cnd
Date: 12 Mar 25 - 09:11 AM

Regarding the film's tune, I found the following in Middlesex Independent & W. London Star, October 14th, 1949 (p. 2):

Composer Brian Easdale, who won an Oscar for his "Red Shoes" film score, has written lyrical settings for three soprano songs sung by star Jennifer Jones in "Gone to Earth." These include a new setting for Shakespeare's "Sigh No More, Ladies" for unaccompanied voice; harp and choir setting for the traditional "Harps in Heaven"; and harp settings and words for "The Mountain Ash." Highlight of the score will be the theme tone poem, "Ride of the Black Huntsman," written for four harps, strings and horn quartet.

You can find Easdale's copyright card here, which claims "Three songs; from the film Gone to earth, music by Brian Easdale, [words by William Shakespeare, Brian Easdale and Marry Webb] 2/- (c) Chappell & Co., ltd., London; 11Oct50; EF0-5044.

On the other hand, here is Dransfield's recording; on his 2005 release Unruly (link) he claimed tune composition credits.

Though the aforementioned newspaper articled noted the song as traditional, I've found nothing to suggest the words have any origin other than Webb. Gladys Mary Coles, the author of Collected Prose and Poem: A Selection of Mary Webb's Hitherto Uncollected and Unpublished Work (1977) curiously included only the second and third verses (p. 120) in her compilation; Coles notes in the introduction that many of the poems and short stories were found scouring local literary journals and magazines, but doesn't point to specific sources for a number of the works. The overall message, however, is still that it was Webb's original work.

So I think my ultimate takeaway here is that Webb composed the lyrics herself, then Easdale and Dransfield both put it to (somewhat similar) musical settings using their own approximations of the original meter.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Harps in Heaven' in Gone To Earth film
From: GUEST,Greenfield
Date: 12 Mar 25 - 09:21 AM

How wonderful, what brilliant sourcing. I tried the same, and was completely stumped! Very grateful to you, that answers the question marvellously.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Harps in Heaven' in Gone To Earth film
From: cnd
Date: 13 Mar 25 - 08:05 AM

Appreciate your compliments! I always appreciate a good mystery.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Harps in Heaven' in Gone To Earth film
From: Hagman
Date: 14 Mar 25 - 03:30 AM

From Baz's CD liner notes: "From Mary Webb's fabulous novel "Gone to Earth," this song seems to be about someone losing their faith. Like the beautiful, tragic heroine of that story (whose only friend was a fox) I suspect that Mary Webb needed no more spirituality than that which nature provides. I'll drink to that!"