Singability: Moderate
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STLT#184, Be Ye Lamps unto Yourselves
Gentle readers, I’m in an odd place with this one. I am certain (and am glad) there are people who draw strength and inspiration from this text, a beloved (anonymously translated) passage from “Buddha’s Farewell Address” – a passage from the Mahaparinibbana Suttana. I don’t. I mean, I get what it’s about – it’s all over… Continue reading
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STLT#182, O, the Beauty in a Life
I was expecting this to be a difficult song to learn – enough times, that “Irregular” at the bottom of the page signals complex rhythms and intervals. Yet once I got into it, and I felt the 9/8 rhythm (which is really a glorious 3/4), the song suddenly felt familiar, in a way that makes… Continue reading
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STLT#181, No Matter If you Live Now Far or Near
Among the most meaningful compliments I’ve gotten so far about this series is from my colleague and mentor, Michael Tino, who told me about a month ago how he now turns to it when making hymn choices and how frustrated he was that I hadn’t gotten to #181 yet. I’m here now; I have never sung… Continue reading
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STLT#179, Words That We Hold Tight
I have little to say this morning. In fact, most of what I have to say in this hurried morning will be below the lyrics. But I will say WOW, these this song is timely. I appreciate it when this spiritual practice meets the times, even I grumble going through it – because it always… Continue reading
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STLT#178, Raghupati
This morning’s practice started as it normally does, with me flipping to the page and meeting my first reaction – depending on the song, it might be one of joy, apathy, annoyance, or curiosity. Having never sung or heard this one before, curiosity won the day. Because it’s in an unfamiliar language and set to… Continue reading
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STLT#167, Nothing but Peace Is Enough
Today we get to the first of several pieces by Jim Scott, a prolific UU songwriter and performer. It’s interesting to me that while some of his songs are full on hymns (Gather the Spirit, The Oneness of Everything, etc.) we also get some short pieces that are the choruses of longer songs. That’s the… Continue reading
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STLT#158, Praise the Source of Faith and Learning
I’m a little more in love with this hymn today than I was yesterday. I’ve used it several times – often with services about the arts or knowledge and reason. But even then, I don’t know that I actually meditated on the lyrics, written by Thomas Troeger, now a professor of preaching at Yale (officially… Continue reading
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STLT#154, No More Auction Block for Me
Today’s post will be very short, as I have succumbed finally to the respiratory crud going around. But I do have a thing or two to say about this song, which I could not sing, physically or emotionally. First, I am glad we have a chance to see some of the less cheerful, less hopeful… Continue reading
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STLT#150, All Whose Boast It Is
Oof. This is a complex lyric – three verses of a complex poem, “Stanzas on Freedom,” written by James Russell Lowell (one of the 19th century American Fireside Poets). It’s not even a terribly good poem – technically, his writing was good, but as Margaret Fuller wrote, “”his verse is stereotyped; his thought sounds no depth,… Continue reading
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STLT#149, Lift Every Voice and Sing
I once almost made a mistake with this hymn. It was spring 2011, and a small committee of Unitarian Universalists from four NY Capital Region congregations were planning our third joint service. We had moved to a new venue, which features an historic tracker organ, and we decided to do a hymn sing before the… Continue reading
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links
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