Simple Gifts

"Simple Gifts" is an 1848 Shaker song by Elder Joseph Brackett.

It has endured many inaccurate descriptions. Though often classified as an anonymous Shaker hymn or as a work song, it is better classified as a dance song.

The composer

Elder Joseph Brackett was born in Cumberland, Maine, on May 6, 1797. He first joined the Shakers at Gorham, Maine, when his father's farm helped to form the nucleus of a new Shaker settlement. In 1819, Joseph moved with the other Shakers to Poland Hill, Maine.

He later served as first minister of Maine Shaker societies, as well as Church Elder at New Gloucester, Maine, now known as Sabbathday Lake, the last remaining Shaker community.

Elder Joseph Brackett died on July 4, 1882.^[1]

The lyrics

"Simple Gifts" was written by Elder Joseph while he was at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine in 1848. These are the lyrics to his one-verse 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.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Several Shaker manuscripts indicate that this is a "Dancing Song" or a "Quick Dance." That is apparent with such lines of the song as "turn, turn will be our delight" and "turning, turning we come round right". These are dance instructions. (It should also be noted that the tune traditionally paired with these lyrics (see below) is also used in many hymnals for the song "Lord of the Dance".)

The melody

A manuscript of Mary Hazzard of the New Lebanon, N.Y. Shaker community records this original version of the melody:

Modern arrangements

This Shaker dance song has become world famous thanks to its use in Aaron Copland's score for Martha Graham's ballet, Appalachian Spring, first performed in 1944. Copland used "Simple Gifts" a second time in 1950 in his first set of Old American Songs for voice and piano, which was later orchestrated.

"Simple Gifts" has been adapted or arranged many times by folksingers and composers. Probably the best known example is by English songwriter Sydney Carter, who adapted the Shaker tune for his song "Lord of the Dance", first published in 1963.

John P. Zdechlik used "Simple Gifts" in "Chorale and Shaker Dance," a 1972 composition for concert band.

Ronan Hardiman used the tune for Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance, which opened in 1996. The melody is used at various points throughout the show, including the piece titled "Lord of the Dance."^[2]

In 2004, Robert Steadman arranged the tune for orchestra featuring an off-stage trumpet and a thumping, dance-music influenced finale.

Frank Ticheli also wrote a version of Simple Gifts, presented in Simple Gifts: Four Shaker Songs.

Two additional, later non-Shaker verses exist for the song, as follows:

'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,

'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,

And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,

Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say,

(refrain)

'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,

'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me",

And when we hear what others really think and really feel,

Then we'll all live together with a love that is real.^[3]

It has been noted that these later verses are of a more facile sentiment and do not fit the rhythm of the tune so well.^{[citation needed]}

A version of the song was incorporated into a compostion called Air and Simple Gifts arranged by John Williams and performed by Itzhak Perlman(violin), Yo-Yo Ma(cello), Gabriela Montero(piano) and Anthony McGill(clarinet) on January 20, 2009 at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

References

^ Hall, Roger L. (2006). The Story of SIMPLE GIFTS. PineTree Press.
^ Sound Gallery at http://www.lordofthedance.com/
^ Johnson, Arthur L. (2008). Race and Remembrance. Wayne State University Press.

External links

Joseph Brackett's 'Simple Gifts'
Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village
Easybyte - free easy piano arrangement of Simple Gifts

[1] Hall, Roger L. (2006). The Story of SIMPLE GIFTS. PineTree Press.

[2] Sound Gallery at http://www.lordofthedance.com/

[3] Johnson, Arthur L. (2008). Race and Remembrance. Wayne State University Press.

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