Origins: Only Remembered

Subject: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Rembered'
From: Compton
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 08:37 AM

Notes I have read recently suggests John Tams wrote new words to an original tune (and used in Glasgow show "The Ship")"Only Remembered"...featured on Coope, Boyes and Simpson's "Funny Old World"..Anyone know of orifginal Hymnal words??...Only Remembered is GREAT song!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Rembered'
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 09:36 AM

Bill Staines' "Only Remembered" (click here for the audio clip) sounds like "The Battle Cry of Freedom."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Rembered'
From: Burke
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 11:11 AM

Two sets of words are already here, I don't know which you might already know.

Folksongs of the Ozarks
Godless Hymns Thread

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Rembered'
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 11:34 AM

Notes by Vance Randolph in Ozark Folksongs, rev. ed., vol. IV (p. 64):

I have seen a longer version of this piece in a "shape note" hymnal called Harvest Bells (ed. by Rev. W. E. Penn, St. Louis, n.d., No. 223), thw words credited to Dr. H. Bonar and the music to W.W. Bentley.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Rembered'
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 11:50 AM

Soaring from earth like a fly in molasses
Taken aloft like a slug on the wing;
Seen only dimly through mists as time passes
Where are the words I am trying to sing?
      
    Vaguely remembered, almost remembered
    Vaguely remembered from what I have sung;
    La la la la la la la la la la-la
    Vaguely remembered from what I have sung.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Rembered'
From: nutty
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 11:55 AM

There are two different sets of sheet music here on the Music for the Nation Site both pre 1885

Only Remembered (1)

and

Only Remembered (2)

The first is said to be by Jno. R. Sweney and the second by Asa Hull

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Remembered'
From: Barbara
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 05:20 PM

The second one by Asa Hull is the one that John Tams used. The tune is different, but derivative, and look at the words:

Up and away like the dew of the morning,
Soaring from earth to its home in the sun
Thus would I pass from this earth and its toiling
Only remembered for what I have done.

Subject: Lyr Add: ONLY REMEMBERED (H. Bonar & Asa Hull)
From: Barbara
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 05:32 PM

All right. That's twice I managed to lose a post, and I'm not typing these silly words again. So I put 'em in my word processor and copied them here. Here is the rest of the hymn, and here -- Only Remembered, John Tams is a link to John Tams' words. I see we have a version of the text below in the DT, but the version below has more verses.

       ONLY REMEMBERED
      (Text: 1 Peter 11,9)
    Dr. H. Bonar & Asa Hull

Up and away like the dew of the morning,
Soaring from earth to its home in the sun
Thus would I pass from this earth and its toiling
Only remembered for what I have done.

        Only remembered, only remembered,
        Only remembered for what we have done,
        Only remembered for what we have done.

Shall I be missed if another succeed me,
Reaping the fields I in springtime have sown?
No, for the sower may pass from his labors,
Only remembered for what he has done.

Only the truth that in life I have spoken,
Only the seed that on earth I have sown,
These shall pass onward when I am forgotten
Fruits of the harvest and what I have done.

Oh, when the Saviour shall make up his jewels,
When the bright crowns of rejoicing are won,
Then will his faithful and weary disciples
All be remembered for what they have done.

Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: ONLY REMEMBERED
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 09:12 PM

This is the version in Sankey et al.'s Gospel Hymns Nos.1 to 6 Complete (1894, 1895, no. 534), with an altered set of lyrics of Horatius Bonar's original and the music by Sankey:

          ONLY REMEMBERED

1. Fading away like the stars in the morning,
    Losing their light in the glorious sun
    Thus would we pass from this earth and its toiling,
    Only remembered by what we have done.

    Refrain:
    Only remembered, only remembered,
    Only remembered by what we have done,
    Thus would we pass from this earth and its toiling,
    Only remembered by what we have done.

2. Shall we be miss'd tho' by others succeeded.
    Reaping the fields we in springtime have sown?
    No, for the sowers nay pass from their labors,
    Only remembered by what they have done.

3. Only the truth that in life we have spoken,
    Only the seed that on earth we have sown;
    These will pass onward when we are forgotten,
    Fruits of the harvest and what we have done.

4. Oh, when the Saviour shall make up His Jewels,
    When the bright crowns of rejoicing are won,
    Then shall His weary and faithful disciples,
    All be remembered by what they have done.

X:1
T:Only Remembered
M:4/4
L:1/8
C:Ira D. Sankey
S:Gospel Hymns Nos.1 to 6 Complete, no. 534
K:Eb
B2=A3/2 B/e2B G|B2A3/2 F/ AG3|c2d3/2 d/e2B c|
d2c3/2 c/B4|B2=A3/2 B/e2B G|B2A3/2 F/ AG3|
c2d3/2 d/e2B A|G2F3/2 E/E4||
F2F3/2 G/ AA2z|G2G3/2 A/ BB2z|B2=A3/2 B/ cd e e|
d2c3/2 c/B4|B2=A3/2 B/ e2B G|B2A3/2 F/ AG3|
c2d3/2 d/ e2B A|G2F3/2 E/ E4|]

Subject: Lyr Add: ONLY REMEMBERED
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 09:34 PM

Subject added, and a correction.

2. Shall we be miss'd tho' by others succeeded,
    Reaping the fields we in springtime have sown?
    No, for the sowers may pass from their labors,
    Only remembered by what they have done.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Remembered'
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 15 Mar 04 - 10:01 PM

Amused by the note in The Traditional Ballad Index cufresno: "Although this song has been fairly popular with folk revival singers, it bears noting that it does not conform with the theology of any major branch of Christianity."
For heretics only?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Remembered'
From: Burke
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 09:38 AM

I had more success with search engines after I noticed that the original has "remembered by what I have done. The I switches around to we, he, they, etc.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE EVERLASTING MEMORIAL
From: Burke
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 10:09 AM

I found this in the Making of America Collection. The index lists "Bonar" as the author. This book, published in 1872, is roughly contemporary with the sheet music above.

THE EVERLASTING MEMORIAL

Up and away, like the dew of the morning,
That soars from the earth to its home in the sun,—
So let me steal away, gently and lovingly,
Only remembered by what I have done.

My name, and my place, and my tomb all forgotten.
The brief race of time well and patiently run,
So let me pass away, peacefully, silently,
Only remembered by what I have done.

Gladly away from this toil would I hasten,
Up to the crown that for me has been won;
Unthought of by man in rewards or in praises, —
Only remembered by what I have done.

Up and away, like the odors of sunset,
That sweeten the twilight as darkness comes on;
So be my life,—a thing felt but not noticed,
And I but remembered by what I have done.

Yes, like the fragrance that wanders in freshness,
When the flowers that it came from are closed up and gone;
So would I be to this world's weary dwellers,
Only remembered by what I have done.

Needs there the praise of the love-written record,
The name and the epitaph graved on the stone.
The things we have lived for,—let them be our story,
We ourselves but remembered by what we have done.

I need not be missed, if my life has been bearing
(As its Summer and Autumn moved silently on)
The bloom, and the fruit, and the seed of its season;
I shall still be remembered by what I have done.

I need not be missed, if another succeed me,
To reap down those fields which in Spring I have sown;
He who plowed and who sowed is not missed by the reaper,
He is only remembered by what he has done.

Not myself, but the truth that in life I have spoken.
Not myself, but the seed that in life I have sown,
Shall pass on to ages,—all about me forgotten,
Save the truth I have spoken, the things I have done.

So let my living be, so be my dying;
So let my name lie, unblazoned, unknown;
Unpraised and unmissed, I shall still be remembered;
Yes,—but remembered by what I have done.

Found in:
The shadow of the rock, and other religious poems. [Randolph, Anson Davies Fitz] 1820-1896, compiler. New and enl. ed. New York, A. D. F. Randolph & co., [1872] p. 81-83

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Remembered'
From: Compton
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 12:22 PM

What a great response!!! Thanks all..and any new chums that join this thread. Just a thought, did any ever see "The Ship" live? Wasn't Phil Cunningham the MD? and a lot of the songs written by Tams and Cunningham?..I only saw in on TV!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Remembered'
From: sleepyjon
Date: 23 Sep 08 - 08:57 AM

This is all a bit old now, but I've just stumbled on "Only Remembered" in "Sacred Songs and Solos: Revised and Enlarged, with Standard Hymns. Twelve Hundred Pieces. Compiled under the Direction of Ira D. Sankey." Can't find any publication or printing date, but Sankey died in 1908(?).

The words of "Only Remembered" are ascribed to H Bonar D.D (alt.). - I'm guessing the "alt" means someone adapted them. They are as given by masato sakurai about five posts back with a few minor differences:

V1,1, "..stars of the morning"
V2,3 "Yes, but the sowers must pass . . "
   4, "Ever remembered . . "
V3,3, "These shall pass . .

The tune is also as MS gives - and in 4/4 (I prefer the "folk processed" triple time usually heard in clubs (in the UK that is))

But is the refrain after every verse "Always remembered, always remembered . . etc" or, after v3 for example, is it "Fruits of the harvest, fruits of the harvest, fruits of the harvest and what we have done"?

(Some of the above would be clearer if I could work out how to do italics or underlines for the changes - sorry!)

SJ

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Remembered'
From: sleepyjon
Date: 25 Sep 08 - 06:04 AM

Correction to last post:

Final question: Is the refrain after every verse always "Only remembered, only remembered . . etc" or is it the last line of the verse eg v3: "Fruits of the harvest, fruits of the harvest . . etc"?

I'll nod off again now.

SJ

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Original hymn to 'Only Remembered'
From: Nathan in Texas
Date: 25 Sep 08 - 11:10 PM

It's included here in a collection of Bonar's hymns published in 1885. You can find out more about the composer here

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Only Remembered
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 28 Sep 08 - 10:21 PM

Lyrics of THE EVERLASTING MEMORIAL, identical to those posted above by Burke, can be found in

Bonar, Horatius. Hymns of Faith and Hope [First Series]. New York: Carter, 1860.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Only Remembered
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 29 Sep 08 - 12:09 AM

Great song, after singing it one too many times, I started singing "merely dismembered, merely dismemebered, merely dismembered for what he has done, Merely dismembered, merely dismembered, merely dismembered and cut up for fun." Never dream of doing that on stage.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Only Remembered
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 29 Sep 08 - 01:34 PM

Rising from earth like a fly in molasses
Flying aloft like a slug on the wing
Seen only dimly through mists as time passes
Where are the songs i am trying to sing?

cho:   Almost remembered. Almost remembered
       Vaguely remembered from what I have sung
       (pause) Da da da dada, da da da dada
       Almost remembered, the songs I have sung.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Only Remembered
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 29 Sep 08 - 03:40 PM

Good, Dick!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Only Remembered
From: GUEST,Liz Raphael
Date: 09 Mar 15 - 11:14 AM

I remember singing at Sunday school, about 55 years ago, a song called Always remembered. I've just woke up from an afternoon nap, and the words are going round in my head. Here's the song / hymn

I want you to know that you'll always be remembered
I think of you constantly all the day long
Your sorrows I'm sharing with god interceding
He will not forsake you although you are gone

Then the chorus is
Always remembered yes always remembered
Remembered forever his promise tis true
Always remembered yes always remembered
God cannot forget and he'll not forget you

I do not know what's brought this into my mind after all these years and cannot find anything about it on line. Can anyone help?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Only Remembered
From: Brian May
Date: 09 Mar 15 - 11:25 AM

Dick, that was mint.

I love that song but I identify completely with what you've written.

Thanks for the laugh.

Subject: ADD Version: Only Remembered (John Tams)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Nov 20 - 02:53 AM

Any corrections to these lyrics by John Tams?

Thread #116122   Message #3676488
Posted By: Nigel Parsons
11-Nov-14 - 02:49 PM
Thread Name: 'Only remembered' Midlands ITV
Subject: RE: 'Only remembered' Midlands ITV

Recently revived for the stage show of War Horse, using the arrangement by John Tams:

Only Remembered
From a Hymn by Horatius Bonar with music by Ira D Sankey
Arranged (and additional words)by John Tams

Fading away like the stars in the morning,
Losing their light in the glorious sun,
Thus would we pass from this earth and its toiling?
Only remembered for what we have done.
    Only remembered, only remembered,
    Only remembered for what we have done.
   Thus would we pass from this earth and its toiling?
   Only remembered for what we have done.

Horses and men, plowshares and traces,
The line on the land and the paths of the sun.
Season by season we mark nature's graces.
Only remembered for what we have done.
   Only remembered, only remembered,
   Only remembered for what we have done;
   Season by season we mark nature's graces.
   Only remembered for what we have done.

Only the truth in the life we have spoken,
Only the seed that in life we have sown:
These shall pass onwards when we are forgotten:
Only remembered for what we have done.
    Only remembered, only remembered,
    Only remembered for what we have done.
    These shall pass onwards when we are forgotten:
    Only remembered for what we have done.

Who'll sing the anthem, and who'll tell the story?
Will the line hold; will it scatter and run?
Shall we at last be united in glory?
Only remembered for what we have done?
    Only remembered, only remembered,
   and only remembered for what we have done.
   Shall we at last be united in glory?
   Only remembered for what we have done?

For a rendition by John Tams, see The Festival of Remembrance on BBC I-Player (introduction starts 33 minute in)

Mel Barratt did a wonderful performance of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM4KNxmpUus

See the note below from Mo The Caller. I think she's right that the verse should begin with "shall we at last," reversing the first and second lines of this verse.

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: BobL
Date: 12 Nov 20 - 03:38 AM

I've always been puzzled by this hymn - what do they mean, "only" remembered? However else might we be remembered, but by our words and actions?

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 12 Nov 20 - 05:17 AM

I have always assumed that the only remembered was as in Julius Ceasar is remembered, but nobody alive today knew him pesonally.

Robin

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: rich-joy
Date: 12 Nov 20 - 05:39 PM

FWIW, before the John Tams variant became so popular all over, this is the version I loved and sang, from Lisa Null with Bill Shute and friends on "American Primitive" :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9TPEjQ0FyQ


R-J

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 12 Nov 20 - 06:37 PM

It was used in both The Ship and The Big Picnic performed at Harland & Wolf in Glasgow in 1990s.

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Joe G
Date: 12 Nov 20 - 07:37 PM

Ah The Ship was brilliant! Saw it on TV - I really wish they would repeat it!

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 13 Nov 20 - 05:08 AM

I may still have The Ship on a video cassette!

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 13 Nov 20 - 05:49 AM

My friend and ex-sailing buddy, Lester Simpson,was in both The Ship and The Big Picnic, IIRC.

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 13 Nov 20 - 06:04 AM

And grand he was too, my wife always remembers dancing the Gay Gordons with Jimmy Logan at the end of The Ship. The Big Picnic was an incredible production, even without subtitles for the rough Glasgow accents used!!

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 13 Nov 20 - 06:21 AM

Those 2 productions were the only gigs that we ever flew to - on the old BA Shuttle!

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Mo the caller
Date: 13 Nov 20 - 09:11 AM

Joe, you posted the last verse as -

Will the line hold; will it scatter and run?
Shall we at last be united in glory?
Only remembered for what we have done?
    Only remembered, only remembered,
   and only remembered for what we have done.
   Shall we at last be united in glory?
   Only remembered for what we have done?

If I try to sing it I think it fits better with the first two lines switched.

I checked the original source, and Nigel Parson acknowledged that there was a problem with the line breaks, so I fixed it. The line should start with:
Who'll sing the anthem, and who'll tell the story?
Will the line hold; will it scatter and run?
With the line breaks moved, it works. Would you agree?
-Joe-

Subject: Lyr Add: Only remembered (John Tams)
From: Melbert
Date: 13 Nov 20 - 11:08 AM

Joe Offer asked me to post these lyrics after hearing a recording of my rendition. I learned the song from the singing of Bob Fox, who played "the Songman" in the stage musical "Warhorse".

Only Remembered (John Tams, From the singing of Bob Fox)

ONLY REMEMBERED
(lyrics by Horatius Bonar with music by Ira D Sankey)
(as sung by Mel Barratt, with additions from Bob Fox and John Tams)

Fading away like the stars in the morning,
losing their light in the glorious sun.
Thus shall we pass from this earth and its toiling
only remembered for what we have done.
Horses and men, plowshares and traces,
The line on the earth and the paths of the sun.
Season by season we mark natures graces
only remembered for what we have done.

Only remembered, only remembered
only remembered for what we have done.
Season by season we mark natures graces
only remembered for what we have done.

Only the truth that in life we have spoken,
Only our deeds when our journey is run.
These shall pass onwards when we are forgotten
only remembered for what we have done.
Where are they running? Why are they falng?l
Fewer still fewer from what was begun.
Ghosts in the morning mist, silently calling
only remembered for what we have done.

Only remembered, only remembered
only remembered for what we have done.
Ghosts in the morning mist, silently calling
only remembered for what we have done.

Who’ll sing the anthems and who’ll tell the stories?
Will the line hold? Will it scatter and run?
Shall we at last be united in glory
only remembered for what we have done.

Only remembered, only remembered
only remembered for what we have done.
Shall we at last be united in glory
only remembered for what we have done.

Mel Barratt performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM4KNxmpUus

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Only remembered (John Tams)
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 13 Nov 20 - 01:03 PM

Rod Paterson - Only Remembered - from The Big Picnic!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Only remembered (John Tams)
From: Jeri
Date: 13 Nov 20 - 03:26 PM

The initial song was a hymn, written by Horatius Bonar.

---

ONLY REMEMBERED
(lyrics by Horatius Bonar with music by Ira D Sankey)

1. Fading away like the stars of the morning,
Losing their light in the glorious sun--
Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling,
Only remembered by what we have done.

Refrain:
Only remembered, only remembered,
Only remembered by what we have done;
Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling,
Only remembered by what we have done.

2 Shall we be miss'd though by others succeeded,
Reaping the fields we in springtime have sown?
No, for the sowers may pass from their labors,
Only remembered by what they have done. [Refrain]

3 Only the truth that in life we have spoken,
Only the seed that on earth we have sown;
These shall pass onward when we are forgotten,
Fruits of the harvest and what we have done. [Refrain]

4 Oh, when the Saviour shall make up His jewels,
When the bright crowns of rejoicing are won,
Then shall His weary and faithful disciples,
All be remembered by what they have done. [Refrain]

Source: Hallowed Hymns, New and Old #185

---

And I got it from https://hymnary.org/text/up_and_away_like_the_dew_of_the_morning

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Snuffy
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 04:44 AM

The first line of that verse was inadvertently put at the end of the previous one!! It should read:

Who'll sing the anthem, and who'll tell the story?
Will the line hold; will it scatter and run?
Shall we at last be united in glory?
Only remembered for what we have done?

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: The Man from UNCOOL
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 09:35 PM

BobL
Remembered by what we are/were: character, appearance, and surely other things.

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: GUEST,Allyn Dimock
Date: 18 Jun 21 - 11:51 PM

Can anyone tell me when the war reference "will the line hold, will it scatter and run" came into the song. It is not in Bonar's original hymn. Was it there before Tams' version. I don't recall it being in Lisa Null's version in the '70s, nor in any online hymnal versions that I have been able to find so far.

Also when did "Ever remembered" drop entirely out of the text?

Subject: ADD Version: Only Remembered
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Jun 21 - 01:52 AM

It's been a delight to get to know Mel Barratt at the Mudcat Worldwide Singaround on Mondays. He doesn't come every week, but I love whatever he sings. Here's what he does with "Only Remembered," including the alterations made by John Tams.



Mel Barratt performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM4KNxmpUus

And here's a version from Sally Rogers, who always comes up with interesting and unusual interpretations of songs (Sally says she learned the song from Lisa Null): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb376X-SV6s

Coope, Boyes, and Simpson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDC2KkQkfsE

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 19 Jun 21 - 02:13 AM

Is it confined to a war reference? It could equally apply to a picket line in an industrial dispute - with echoes of the UK miners strike 1984/85 and the Battle of Orgreave.

It appeared on Funny Old World by Coope Boyes & Simpson, No Masters NMCD3 (CD, UK, 1993). Production: John Tams, Barry Coope with occasional interference from Jim Boyes and Lester Simpson. Only Remembered; words Horatius Bonar, John Tams, music Ira D. Sankey.

Rev Dr Horatius Bonar DD (19 December 1808 – 31 July 1889), a contemporary and acquaintance of Robert Murray M'cheyne, was a Scottish churchman and poet. He is principally remembered as a prodigious hymnodist. Friends knew him as Horace Bonar.

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Jun 21 - 02:54 AM

Hi, Henry - the original version was purely religious. The John Tams verse and the additional verse sung by Mel Barratt certainly give a Remembrance Day "twist" to the song, but I don't think it's limited to any particular topic. It's a song that is easily adapted.

-Joe-

---

Here's a performance of the Tams/Brough version, sung by Nicole Murray:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec4r1C7HvkM

Murray's notes:

Only Remembered, the classic hymn by Scotsman Ira Sankey, was used in the stage show War Horse, with an arrangement and slightly recrafted words by John Tams and H. Brough.

I learned this song when my husband (and Cloudstreet's lead tenor) John Thompson played the role of Songman in the Australian production of War Horse. My choirs have enjoyed it ever since, and Remembrance Day seems like a good day to share it.

www.nicolemurray.com.au

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 19 Jun 21 - 04:14 AM

Agreed, Joe. It's one of the songs that War Horse is founded on. We sat in the front row at a performance of War Horse - it was more like standing in the front line!

Dr. Horatius Bonar, of Edinburgh, wrote the words of this hymn, which I set to music in 1891. I sang it as a solo in the Tabernacle in London at the funeral of my friend, C. H. Spurgeon, the great London preacher. Sankey, pp. 334-5

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 19 Jun 21 - 06:52 PM

No mention so far on this thread (I think!) of the wonderful other version sung by Craig, Morgan and Robson on their album, "Peppers and Tomatoes" (2005). This version has a different set of lyrics by the late Sarah Morgan, and uses a different traditional tune. To quote what Sarah said in their songbook " I was asked to direct the choir for Taffy Thomas's show "Time and Tide" at Whitby Folk Festival, so I wrote these words to fit his theme of the enduring power of tradition."
Sadly I can't find any YouTube of the trio singing this song, but those of you who do things like Spotify may be able to find it!
Anyway, here, at least, are the lyrics: (and I do have a copy of the notation, though you should probably contact Carolyn Robson if you want to perform this commercially).

ONLY REMEMBERED – Craig, Morgan and Robson version

We’ve danced through the past to the music of history,
Sung out the winter, and sung in the sun,
In story and rhyme we’ve recorded life’s mystery,
So we’re remembered for what we have done.

Chorus:
Only remembered, only remembered,
Only remembered for what we have done,
Only remembered, only remembered,
Only remembered for what we have done.

Each celebration, in the dance of creation,
Binds us together and joins us as one,
In songs and stories, of sorrows or glories,
We’ll be remembered for what we have done.
Chorus:

These are the gifts for all those who will follow,
Treasures passed on from the old to the young.
Yesterday’s fire will light new tomorrows,
(And) we’ll be remembered for what we have done.
Chorus:

Strike up the instruments, join in the singing,
Come take your places, the dance has begun.
From past to the future the echoes go ringing
And so we’re remembered for what we have done.
Chorus x 2

Subject: RE: Origins: Only Remembered
From: GUEST,#
Date: 22 Jun 21 - 12:06 PM

https://www.facebook.com/sarahmorganfoundation/videos/1087280345048466

They can be heard singing it at that link. Beautiful take of the song.