{"id":9086,"date":"2022-01-08T22:01:52","date_gmt":"2022-01-09T06:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/?p=9086"},"modified":"2022-01-18T02:51:32","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T10:51:32","slug":"more-copyright-free-hymns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/2022\/01\/more-copyright-free-hymns\/","title":{"rendered":"More copyright-free hymns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I just uploaded another batch of 26 copyright-free hymns onto Google Drive.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This collection of copyright-free hymns now includes a total of 63 hymns, with 38 copyright-free versions of hymns in the two current Unitarian Universalist hymnals, along with 24 other hymns and songs (including classics like “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” and “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore,” which really should be in our hymnals anyway). Not only are tune, text, and arrangement copyright-free, but the typesetting is as well, so you can project these or place them in online orders of service without a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “ReadMe” file in the Google Drive folder gives some information about each hymn, and also gives the corresponding number if there’s a version of the hymn in one of the UU hymnals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In several cases, hymn texts now offer degenderized lyrics, for those who prefer to move away from binary gender options (e.g, for “The Earth is our mother,” the alternative “The Earth is our parent” is suggested). Eventually, I’ll offer degenderized options for all lyrics, but it takes — so — much — time to produce quality music typesetting that I can’t promise when I’ll get to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you use these in your congregation’s online worship services, or at home, or around a campfire, I think you’ll find lots of fun and uplifting music here. I’d love it if you’d let me know where and how and if you use this music!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update, 1\/18\/2022:<\/strong> Now up to 71 total hymns and spiritual songs, with 44 of them being copyright-free versions of hymns from the two current UU hymnals. List of hymns (with references to hymnal numbers, and notes on copyright status) below the fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Notes:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 All hymns are on standard 8-1\/2 x 11 inch sheets, but proportioned so that they may be reduced on a photocopier to fit onto a half sheet suitable for insertion in a typical order of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 I have carefully researched all tunes, arrangements, and texts to find versions that are in the public domain in the United States. Except where noted below, the tunes, arrangements, and texts have been taken from printed sources dated 1925 or before (i.e., they\u2019re in the public domain in the U.S.). Where I have supplied simple arrangements or other music, or combined or altered tune, text, or arrangement, I have released all such work into the public domain. While I believe all tunes, texts, and arrangements are public domain in the U.S., I make no warranty to that effect; nor can I take any responsibility for how others use these hymns and tunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 For hymn tunes composed 1820 or earlier, I provide the tune number form Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn Tune Index. For a few later hymn tunes, I provide the tune number from D. DeWitt Wasson\u2019s Hymn-tune Index and Related Materials. For songs listed in the Roud Folk Song Index, I provide the Roud number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 This material will be updated as I have time to write up more my research and include more information about tunes and texts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Version 1.8 \u2014 17 January 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A – E<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

All Are Architects of Fate<\/strong> \u2014 See: The Builders<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazing Grace \u2014 205<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text is by John Newton, from his book Olney Hymns (1779). Minor variations have crept into the text over the years, but the whole remains firmly in the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is \u201cNew Britain,\u201d and while it\u2019s unclear who actually wrote the tune, it was first published in The Columbian Harmony (1829), and first paired with Newton\u2019s text by William Walker in his 1835 Southern Harmony. The present arrangement is an early twentieth century arrangement of the tune. Some people prefer to add a fermata on the first note of the seventh measure, and on the final note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song is #5430 in the Roud Folk Song Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ancient Mother \u2014 1069<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This anonymous chant, transcribed from oral tradition, is from the late twentieth century North American Pagan community. It is typically sung repeatedly for 3 minutes or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As We Come Marching<\/strong> \u2014 See: Bread and Roses<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balm in Gilead \u2014 1045<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A traditional African American spiritual, in a lovely 1919 arrangement by the African American composer Harry T. Burleigh. Burleigh\u2019s original piano accompaniment varies from verse to verse; the present version uses one of Burleigh\u2019s verses, and is released into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bread and Roses (As We Come Marching) \u2014 109<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poem by James Oppenheim was published in December, 1911, in The American Magazine. The next month, on January 11, 1912, a coalition of textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, went on strike, and used the poem as a rallying cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune and arrangement by Caroline Kohlsaat dates to c. 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bring O Morn Thy Music \u2014 39<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1893 text by Unitarian minister William Channing Gannett. The text has been altered slightly (and the alteration is released into the public domain), but the text remains closer to the original than the version in Singing the Living Tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is \u201cNicaea\u201d by John B. Dykes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddha\u2019s Hymn of Victory \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words Gautama Buddha supposedly said upon achieving enlightenment, drawn from two English metrical translations\/paraphrases, by Charles Lanman and Paul Carus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is \u201cWindham\u201d by Daniel Read, first published in 1785. Two versions of the music are given. The first version included here represents Read\u2019s 1804 revision of the arrangement, as published in Columbian Harmony, 1807; but while Read\u2019s version holds three cadences for 6 beats (a measure and a half), with the soprano and alto voice dropping out after one beat, these long held notes are reduced to two beats (half a measure). The second version included here keeps the long held cadences, and uses a nineteenth century arrangement taken from The Sacred Harp; this version really needs tenors and basses to sing the held notes at the cadences, or perhaps organ accompaniment, and probably works best as a choir anthem. Note that some sources state that this is a Dorian tune; in eighteenth and early nineteenth century American choral practice, tunes notated at minor (Aeolian) were sometimes sung as Dorian, with a raised sixth degree of the scale. In the present version the music has been notated as minor, leaving it up to performers to decide whether to raise the sixth degree of the scale or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #4628 in Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn and Tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Builders, The \u2014 288<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This version of Longfellow\u2019s hymn text is from The Liberal Hymn Book (New York: Burnz & Co., 1880).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune, called \u201cPleyel\u2019s Hymn (First),\u201d is adapted from the andante movement of Ignaz Pleyel\u2019s 1788 String Quartet in G Major (Benton 349). The present arrangement appeared in a number of late nineteenth century hymnals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #5356a in Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn Tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the Waters of Babylon \u2014 279<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tune and text are from A Muse\u2019s Delight by Philip Hayes (1786). The present version is somewhat simplified for congregational singing (most notably, a fourth part is left off, turning Hayes\u2019s four-part round into a three-part round). This altered version is released into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The version printed in Singing the Living Tradition is attributed to William Billings, but it does not appear in the Complete Works of William Billings. Instead, it\u2019s apparently derived from a 1971 commercial recording by Don McLean, who wrongly attributes it to Billings; because its first appearance is on a commercial recording, the tune may therefore be covered by copyright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City of Our Hopes (Hail the Glorious Golden City) \u2014 140<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text is by Felix Adler, founder of the Ethical Culture movement. It appears that this poem was first published as a hymn in the 1904 Pilgrim Hymnal, where the opening line is \u201cSing we of the golden city\u2026.\u201d The present text is taken from the American Unitarian Assoc. Hymn and Tune Book of 1914, with one change in wording: \u201cOnly righteous men and women\u201d has been changed to \u201cOnly righteous upright people\u201d; this small change serves to include children as well as non-binary persons as residents of Adler\u2019s golden city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is \u201cHyfrydol\u201d by Rowland Pritchard, first published in 1844. The arrangement is by the gospel composer Charles H. Gabriel, as it appeared in Great Revival Hymns No. 2, ed. Homer A. Rodeheaver and B. D. Ackley, Charles H. Gabriel music editor, 1912 (hymn 124).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commonwealth of Toil \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The familiar text by Ralph Chaplin, taken from the 1918 edition of the I.W.W. Songbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music is a late nineteenth century arrangement of \u201cDarling Nellie Gray.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dona Nobis Pacem \u2014 388<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional words and music for this familiar round, transcribed from oral tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This round, or canon, has been variously attributed to Mozart or Palestrina, though both attributions are questionable. The round includes intervals of a seventh (e.g., m. 2, between mm. 4-5), which seem more typical of music composed in the nineteenth or twentieth centuries. There are frequent references to the round from the mid-twentieth on, and it\u2019s entirely possible that it was composed during the early to mid twentieth century. Nevertheless, it seems completely safe to assign it to the public domain, as the music and text have been widely reprinted and recorded, with no one claiming copyright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Down by the Riverside (Gonna Lay Down My Sword and Shield) \u2014 162<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune and arrangement are taken from the earliest known publication of this tune (1918, Plantation Melodies). Some of the verses are of unknown origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song is #11886 in the Roud Folk Song Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Down in the Valley \u2014 not in hymnal<\/strong>s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many different versions of the tune, including many recorded by African Americans and European American bluegrass and country singers. The present version is an African American version from the earliest known publication of the tune, in the 1867 book Slave Songs of the U.S. The simple arrangement is released into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earth Is Enough (Here on the Paths of Every Day) \u2014 312<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poem \u201cEarth Is Enough\u201d by Universalist Edwin Markham. The original begins with a couplet that is here included under the hymn title. (The arrangement of the poem in Singing the Living Tradition, which leaves out the first couplet and reverses the order of the two stanzas, is probably not covered under copyright.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This version of tune and arrangement comes from the 1905 Methodist Hymnal. The tune is \u201cFillmore,\u201d and is usually attributed to Jeremiah Ingalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #08859 in D. DeWitt Wasson\u2019s Hymn-tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earth Is Our Mother (Parent), The \u2014 1073<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This anonymous chant, transcribed from oral tradition, is probably from the late twentieth century North American Pagan community. It is typically sung repeatedly for 3 minutes or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gender nonspecific language is included for those who prefer to imagine Earth and Sky as being non-binary gender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chorus, \u201cHey yanna,\u201d etc., is often stated to be of Native American origin, though no evidence was found to either prove or disprove that. Alternate words to the chorus are also provided: \u201cUnite, all beings; we are one; we are one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water, The \u2014 387<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This anonymous chant, transcribed from oral tradition, is probably from the late twentieth century North American Pagan community. It is typically sung repeatedly for 3 minutes or so. (There are many variants of this chant, and I notated it the way I happened to learn it.) The groups I sang this with often used to harmonize a third above or a sixth below the melody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evening Breeze \/ Morning Turns to Glory \u2014 1072<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two anonymous chants, transcribed from oral tradition, probably from the late twentieth century North American Pagan community. The changes may be sung separately, successively, or simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, even though these two chants may be sung together simultaneously, the harmonies (and dissonances) may be challenging for the average congregation; it might work better to have the congregation sing one of these chants while a soloist sings the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everlasting Word, The \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text by Ralph Waldo Emerson, adapted to hymn form by Samuel Longfellow for the 1864 hymnal Hymns of the Spirit. This is, in fact, one of the few hymns actually written by Emerson, with words that have not been substantially rearranged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune \u201cClamanda\u201d derives from an eighteenth century song tune; the present harmony was first published in 1820 in Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony; and the present four-part version, derived from that, was published in the 1902 Cooper revision of The Sacred Harp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #11061 in Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn Tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

F – J<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Friendship \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Philadelphia Songster of 1789 (pp. 12-13), this text is attributed to a \u201cMr. Bidwell of Connecticut.\u201d The 1789 version gives the opening phrase as \u201cFriendship to every generous mind\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original melody came from \u201cViva la face, viva l\u2019amor\u201d in the third act of Handel\u2019s opera \u201cAtalanta.\u201d By 1798, the tune had been published withthe present text in The American Musical Miscellany, ed. Andrew Wright (Northampton, Mass.: Daniel Wright and Co., 1798, pp. 249-252). The present arrangement is by William Walker, in his Southern and Western Pocket Harmonist of 1860. Walker\u2019s arrangement does not follow conventional rules of harmony, but if you can resist the temptation to regularize it you\u2019ll find it\u2019s satisfying to sing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(I was introduced to this song by a Unitarian Universalist who said that in his opinion it was one of the best embodiments of Unitarian Universalist sentiment in song.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Beauty of the Earth \u2014 21<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original text was written by Folliot Sandford Peirpont, and first published in 1864. The present text is taken from the following sources: vv. 1, 3, chorus: Hymn and Tune Book (American Unitarian Assoc., 1914); v. 2: Pierpont\u2019s original 1864 words. While the 1914 Unitarian version begins the chorus with \u201cLord of all,\u201d in the late 1970s Unitarian Universalists removed the masculine reference by singing \u201cGod of all\u201d or \u201cSource of all,\u201d and the latter wording is now the most popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune comes from a melody in the chorale \u201cTreuer Heiland, wir sind hir\u201d by Conrad Kocher, from his Stimmen aus den Reicher Gottes (1838). William H. Monk revised and shortened Kocher\u2019s melody, and published his arrangement in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861). The present version of the music is the 1861 version, transposed to G and changed from 4\/2 to 4\/4 time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forward through the Ages \u2014 114<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text by Unitarian minister Frederick Hosmer, from the American Unitarian Assoc. Hymn and Tune Book of 1914.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is by Arthur Sullivan of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, from the same hymnal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future, The<\/strong> \u2014 see: Years Are Coming<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future Is Better Than the Past, The \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text, often wrongly attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, is by Eliza Thayer Clapp, a Unitarian mystic who contributed this poem to the Transcendentalist periodical The Dial in 1841. The poem was made into a hymn by Frederic Hedge and Frederic Huntington in 1853.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is the cheerful eighteenth century tune \u201cAmsterdam,\u201d in a nineteenth century shape note arrangement, slightly altered for congregational use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #1648c in Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn Tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get on Board \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The present version was published in 1873 by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the first internationally known African American singing ensemble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give Us Pleasure in the Flowers<\/strong> \u2014 See: Prayer for Spring<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go Down, Moses (When Israel Was in Egypt\u2019s Land) \u2014 104<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The classic African American spiritual in an 1873 arrangement by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The small notes are an added simple piano accompaniment to what was an a capella solo in the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guide My Feet \u2014 348<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This folk song was collected by Willis Laurence James. Professor at Spelman College from 1933-1966, James received a grant in 1939 to collect African American folk songs, and he collected this song in southern Georgia. James commented that although the melody uses only three pitches, \u201cyet it has great power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most familiar arrangement is one by Wendell Whalum, a younger colleague of James; Whalum fully notated the vocal ornaments that James indicated by grace notes, made it into a call-and-response song, and added a more sophisticated harmony. This copyright-protected arrangement has become so widespread that it is all too easy to slip into its familiar melody and harmonies when improvising. The present arrangement uses the very simple melody notated by James, with a very simple arrangement folk-style harmony (the arrangement has been released into the public domain); like James\u2019s version, it is not in call-and-response form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hail the Glorious Golden City <\/strong>\u2014 See: City of Our Hopes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Healer of the Wounded Heart \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poignant text is by Penina Moise, who was arguably the first major American Jewish woman poet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is by Alois Kaiser, a composer who has been called \u201cthe founder of the American cantorate.\u201d Both music and text are from early twentieth century printed sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here on the Paths of Every Day<\/strong> \u2014 See: Earth Is Enough<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Can I Keep from Singing? (My Life Flows On in Endless Song) \u2014 108<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not an old Quaker hymn, as is claimed in many hymnals and songbooks. The earliest known publication of the words was in 1868, in the New York Observer, where it was attributed to \u201cPauline T.\u201d; Robert Lowry then set the text to music for his 1869 Bright Jewels for the Sunday school. The third verse, written in 1950 by Doris Plenn, was the subject of litigation when Enya recorded this verse, thinking it was a public domain song. Pete Seeger\u2019s publishing company sued her, claiming copyright, but in litigation the court determined that Seeger did not have a good claim to the copyright, and that Plenn had intended the verse to go into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is by the well-known nineteenth century gospel composer Robert Lowry, Bright Jewels for the Sunday School (1869).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m on My Journey Hom<\/strong>e \u2014 not in hymnals<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune and arrangement are by Sarah Lancaster (1834-1918), a composer of hymn tunes and shape note music. The alto part was added in 1911 by Belle Spivey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several texts with a refrain of \u201cI\u2019m on my journey home,\u201d from both the black and white American musical traditions; the present version includes verses from three different sources. As is usual with such songs, the journey home is a journey to \u201cCanaan\u2019s land,\u201d which can be interpreted in many ways: as heaven, freedom, a better life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m on My Way \u2014 116<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words are from the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first version of the music is a public domain choral arrangement. The second version is a lead sheet based on the singing of Rev. Pearly Brown (youtube.com\/watch?v=vJzj-6vNhwQ). Many treat this as a call-and-response number, e.g., the recording by Flatt and Scruggs (youtube.com\/watch?v=_nWzYfSKFLE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(N.B.: During the 1960\u2019s Civil Rights Movement, the ending of the first verse was changed from \u201cCanaan\u2019s land\u201d or \u201cthat new bright land,\u201d to \u201cthe freedom land.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It Sound Along the Ages \u2014 187<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text by William Channing Gannett, taken from Unity Hymns and Chorals, 1911, slightly altered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music (named \u201cFar Off Lands\u201d for another hymn text with which it was paired) is hymn #254 in Hemlandss\u00e4nger utgifna af Augustana-synoden, a Swedish-language Lutheran hymnal published in Rock Island, Ill., in 1892; this hymnal attributes the melody to the Bohemian Brethren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob\u2019s Ladder \u2014 211<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune, arrangement, and text for vv. 1-3 are from Cabin and Plantation Songs: As Sung by the Hampton Students, 3rd ed., arranged by Thomas P. Fenner, Frederic G. Rathbun, and Bessie Cleveland (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1901), p. 118. The text for vv. 4-6 come from oral tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song is #2286 in the Roud Folk Song Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Brown\u2019s Body \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song started out as a folk song, and during the Civil War more complex words were added to it. The present text follows the version published in the Chicago Tribune on Dec. 16, 1861, with a few minor changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music is a composite of nineteenth century harmonizations of the tune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This song was a favorite of white and black Americans during the Civil War, and John Brown was perceived as a white man who cared enough about black equality to give his life for the cause. It was only in the early twentieth century that racist white Americans began to say that John Brown must have been mentally ill. It\u2019s time to reclaim this song as an anti-racist anthem, to take its place alongside all the songs of struggle from the African American tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song is #771 in the Roud Folk Song Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joyful, Joyful \u2014 29<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text, by Henry van Dyke, was written for a theme in Beethoven\u2019s Ninth Symphony, and published in van Dyke\u2019s 1911 Book of Poems. A few minor changes have been made in the present text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although often attributed to Ludwig van Beethoven, the music is actually an arrangement Edward Hodges, of a theme by Beethoven. Hodges wrote his arrangement for Trinity Church Collection (1864). Some people will tell you that this tune is not the way Beethoven wrote it, and they\u2019re absolutely correct; but this is, in fact, the way Hodges arranged it. (After looking at Beethoven\u2019s score for the Ninth Symphony, I decided I appreciated Hodges\u2019s ability to make something that\u2019s singable by us ordinary mortals.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K – O<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Life Has Loveliness To Sell \u2014 329<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune comes from The Choir, or Union Collection of Church Music, published by Lowell Mason in 1832. Mason named the tune \u201cNashville,\u201d but gave no attribution for the melody. The present arrangement, with a tenor and alto part different from the 1832 version, was published in The Boston Academy\u2019s Collection of Church Music in 1836; here, the tune is said to be \u201carranged from a Gregorian chant.\u201d Since Lowell Mason was on the editorial board of The Boston Academy\u2019s Collection, it\u2019s possible that he wrote the new tenor and alto parts, and provided the attribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words are from the poem \u201cBarter\u201d by Sara Teasdale, published in her book Love Songs (1917). The present version has three minor changes to the words: \u201cOh\u201d added to the beginning of the first and second stanzas (to better fit words to the music); \u201cwhite\u201d changed to \u201cbright\u201d in the third stanza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #20427 in D. DeWitt Wasson\u2019s Hymn-tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lift Every Voice and Sing \u2014 149<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By brothers Rosamond Johnson (music) and James Weldon Johnson (text). The latter described the origin of this song as follows: \u201cA group of young men in Jacksonville, Florida, arranged to celebrate Lincoln\u2019s birthday in 1900. My brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, and I decided to write a song to be sung at the exercises. I wrote the words and he wrote the music. Our New York publisher, Edward B. Marks, made mimeographed copies for us, and the song was taught to and sung by a chorus of five hundred colored school children. Shortly afterwards my brother and I moved away from Jacksonville to New York, and the song passed out of our minds. But the school children of Jacksonville kept singing it; they went off to other schools and sang it; they became teachers and taught it to other children. Within twenty years it was being sung over the South and in some other parts of the country. Today the song, popularly known as the Negro National Hymn, is quite generally used.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Light of Ages \u2014 190<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Unitarian hymnals dated 1925 or before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lo, the Earth Is Risen Again \u2014 61<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The familiar Unitarian Easter text by Samuel Longfellow, as altered in the 1924 Beacon Hymnal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is called \u201cEaster Hymn,\u201d and derives a tune published in Lyrica Davidica in 1708; Nicholas Temperley, in his Hymn and Tune Index, assigns this family of tunes the number 685. However, this variant of tune #685 doesn\u2019t match any of the tunes in Temperley\u2019s database, which only tracks tunes published in 1820 or earlier. Therefore, it appears this is a post-1820 variant of the tune. The arrangement is taken from early twentieth century Unitarian hymnals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lo, the Eastertide Is Here \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lovely Easter text by Frederick Lucian Hosmer, from the American Unitarian Assoc. Hymn and Tune Book of 1914; I\u2019ve altered it slightly and released the altered text into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music is \u201cWarren,\u201d a charming and catchy tune and arrangement written by the great 18th C. American composer William Billings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #4030 in Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn Tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The texts are drawn from the 1867 book Slave Songs of the U.S., as well as transcribed from oral tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The soprano and alto parts are from the 1867 book Slave Songs of the U.S. The tenor and bass parts were added to this version, and have been released into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song is #11975 in the Roud Folk Song Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morning Hangs Its Signal, The \u2014 40<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text, by Unitarian William Channing Gannett, appeared in a substantially different form under the title \u201cThe Crowning Day\u201d in Unity Hymns and Chorals for the Congregation and the Home, ed. W. C. Gannett, J. V. Blake, and F. L. Hosmer (1889). The present version of the text is taken with only slight modifications from the American Unitarian Assoc. Hymn and Tune Book of 1914.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is \u201cMerionydd\u201d by William Lloyd of Wales, and was first published in 1840. The arrangement is from the American Unitarian Assoc. Hymn and Tune Book of 1914, slightly modified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother Moon \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An anonymous late 20th century North American chant, probably from the Pagan community. The first verse can be sung repeatedly as a chant; sing for three minutes or so. Or the other anonymous verses may be added to make a short song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Life Flows On in Endless Song<\/strong> \u2014 See: How Can I Keep from Singing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Shall My Inward Joys Arise \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first verse is by Isaac Watts; interestingly, towards the end of his life, Watts reportedly kept a pew at a Unitarian chapel near London. The second verse is by James Merrick. Both texts are from the eighteenth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music is a brilliant choral miniature by William Billings. This tune, named \u201cAfrica\u201d by Billings, deserves to be better known; when sung as a four-part choral piece, each part has melodic interest in itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #3357 in Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn Tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O Give Us Pleasure in the Flowers<\/strong> \u2014 See: Prayer for Spring<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O Life That Maketh All Things New \u2014 12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The present version of the text by Samuel Longfellow was taken from the Proceeding at the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Free Religious Association (1877), where it was sung to the tune of \u201cSweet Hour of Prayer.\u201d Since the Free Religious Association was non-theistic, the mention of \u201cGod\u201d in the text may be interpreted metaphorically. I made one or two slight modifications to modernize the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is \u201cTruro\u201d by Charles Burney, from the late eighteenth century; the arrangement was taken from the American Unitarian Assoc. Hymn and Tune Book of 1914.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #3991a in Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn Tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, Freedom \u2014 156<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first three verses, tune, and arrangement are from Cabin and Plantation Songs: As Sung by the Hampton Students, 3rd ed., arranged by Thomas P. Fenner, Frederic G. Rathbun, and Bessie Cleveland (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1901), p. 114. The fourth verse comes from the Civil Rights Movement, which adapted this song for its own purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song has many additional verses, come from its use in Christian churches, but many more from its use by the Civil Rights Movement. (Many versions of this song from the Civil Rights Movement have been published, mostly in arrangements that have been copyrighted.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, Give Us Pleasure in the Flowers <\/strong>\u2014 See: Prayer for Spring<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, When the Saints \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The traditional New Orleans jazz standard, transcribed from oral tradition. The very simple arrangement is released into the public domain. The melody dates back to the early 1900s, with the first recorded version issued in 1923.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song is #13983 in the Roud Folk Song Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Mount \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This version of Frederick L. Hosmer\u2019s text comes from the Isles of Shoals Hymn Book and Candle Light Service, where it appears with the present tune. This is the hymnal used at the Star Island retreat center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune, \u201cLitlington Tower,\u201d is by Joseph Barnby (1908).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once to Every Soul and Nation \u2014 119<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text is extracted from a \u201cThe Present Crisis,\u201d a poem written by James Russell Lowell in 1845 to protest the Mexican American War. In the years leading up to the Civil War, abolitionists adopted it as a poetic anthem. I was not able to discover who adapted Lowell\u2019s long poem into a hymn; it does not appear in Johnson and Longfellow\u2019s Hymns of the Spirit (1864), but it was included in the American Unitarian Association\u2019s abridged ed. of Hymns for Church and Home (1904).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is called \u201cEbenezer\u201d or \u201cTon-y-Botel\u201d (lit. tune in a bottle), and was written by the Welsh composer of hymn tunes Thomas John Williams in 1890. The present arrangement was taken from the English Hymnal (1906).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over My Head \u2014 30<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origins of both words and tune are obscure. It\u2019s of African American origin, and probably dates back to at least the nineteenth century. The tune is from oral tradition, with a very basic public domain arrangement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P – T<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Prayer in Spring, A (Oh Give Us Pleasure in the Flowers) \u2014 64<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poem \u201cA Prayer in Spring\u201d by Robert Frost, from his book A Boy\u2019s Will (1913).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music is \u201cSong 22\u201d by Orlando Gibbons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #392 in Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn Tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

River of Jordan \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rousing spiritual in a beautiful arrangement by Harry T. Burleigh from 1918. Burleigh\u2019s original piano accompaniment varies from verse to verse; the present arrangement uses just one of Burleigh\u2019s verses, and is released into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seek Not Afar for Beauty \u2014 77<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the poem \u201cIn Common Things\u201d by Minot Judson Savage. The present version was taken from his book Poems of Modern Thought (1884), and slightly modernized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the late 20th century, this text was paired with the tune Coolinge, which is protected by copyright. However, in earlier hymnals this text was often paired with the tune \u201cLangran,\u201d composed by James Langran, the pleasant and easily singable melody of which covers a range of just a sixth. This version of \u201cLangan\u201d comes from the American Unitarian Assoc. Hymn and Tune Book of 1914.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shall We Gather at the River \u2014 1046<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tune, text, and arrangement are by Robert Lowry (1864). The present version was taken from Lowry\u2019s Bright Jewels for the Sunday School (1869).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simple Gifts \u2014 16<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The copyright status of \u201cSimple Gifts\u201d is complicated, as transcriptions from the manuscript source have been published as copyright-protected music; the version included here does not match any of those published versions. Chord progressions or choral arrangements for the tune may also be copyright-protected; the chord progression in the version included here is an utterly simple I-V progression which could not conceivably be protected by copyright. Both a lead sheet and a very simple SATB arrangement are provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sioux Song \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Native Americans wound up at the Hampton Institute (of which the primary residents were African Americans). This song was sung by students at the Hampton Institute, and translated by them, in the late 19th century; it was published in Cabin and Plantation Songs: As Sung by the Hampton Students, 3rd ed., arranged by Thomas P. Fenner, Frederic G. Rathbun, and Bessie Cleveland (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1901), p. 152.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transliteration of the original Sioux words is from the Hampton Institute version. Although I\u2019ve provided chord suggestions, this chant is intended to be sung a capella.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steal Away \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tune and text from the Fisk Jubilee Singers, 1873.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step by Step \u2014 157<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To avoid all copyright issues, the present version uses a new tune and arrangement that have been released into the public domain, along with the original 1861 words. (The version by Waldemar Hille and Pete Seeger may be entirely covered by copyright, since they significantly modified both the public domain text and the public domain music.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Study War No More<\/strong> \u2014 See: Down by the Riverside<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sun Don\u2019t Set in the Morning \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text, tune, and arrangement are from Cabin and Plantation Songs: As Sung by the Hampton Students, 3rd ed., arranged by Thomas P. Fenner, Frederic G. Rathbun, and Bessie Cleveland (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1901). The text has been slightly adapted, and is released into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first version is arranged by the great African American composer Harry T. Burleigh. Note that Burleigh emphasizes the first word of the chorus, \u201cSwing low, sweet chariot.\u2026\u201d The second version is a simpler 1872 arrangement by the Fisk Jubilee Singers (rebarred slightly).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song is #5435 in the Roud Folk Song Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There Is More Love Somewhere \u2014 95<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transcribed from the Alan Lomax recording of Bessie Jones singing this song (Library of Congress public domain recording). The transcription does not do justice to Jones\u2019 many subtle variations on the basic tune, and there is no reason to sing this song exactly the same way every verse. N.B.: Jones sang this a capella.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These Things Shall Be \u2014 138<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text by John Addington Symonds (1880), taken largely from the American Unitarian Assoc. Hymn and Tune Book of 1914.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is \u201cTruro\u201d by Charles Burney, from the late eighteenth century; the arrangement was taken from the American Unitarian Assoc. Hymn and Tune Book of 1914.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #3991a in Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn Tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Little Light of Mine \u2014 118<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the origins of this song are obscure, the tune and text are clearly in the public domain, and date to c. 1920. Since all the arrangements found were copyright-protected, a public domain lead sheet with very basic folk-type chords is provided, as well as a very basic public domain SATB arrangement with a Swing-era turnaround to keep it from getting too boring (and to prevent anyone from claiming that this is one of the copyrighted versions).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song is #17768 in the Roud Folk Song Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2019Tis a Gift To Be Simple <\/strong>\u2014 See: Simple Gifts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U – Z<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Wade in the Water \u2014 210<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two versions of the music are given. The first version is a lead sheet with melody and chords. The melody is essentially the same as that given in Folk Songs of the American Negro, ed. Frederick J. Work (1907); the guitar chords are a simple indication of one possible harmonization. The second version is by Harry T. Burleigh, published in 1922. Burleigh\u2019s original piano accompaniment varies from verse to verse; the present version uses one of Burleigh\u2019s verses, and is released into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words are taken from oral tradition. Several of the verses are \u201cfloating verses,\u201d used in more than one spiritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song is #5439 in the Roud Folk Song Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Shall Not Give Up the Fight \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words are traditional\/anonymous. The first three verses are attributed to South African sources; the other verses are anonymous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the music for this song is best known in a copyrighted arrangement by Anders Nyberg (Walton Music, 1984), Annie Patterson and Peter Blood, in their exhaustively researched Rise Again, found no copyright of the song itself, attributing it to \u201ctraditional South African.\u201d The present version, including all three vocal parts, was published by the City of Glasgow (Scotland), with the attribution \u201cTraditional, collected South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Shall Overcome \u2014 169<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, a federal court ruled that the tune, arrangement, and first verse of \u201cWe Shall Overcome\u201d are in the public domain (We Shall Overcome Foundation v. The Richmond Organization, Inc., 2017 WL 3981311 [S.D.N.Y. Sept. 8, 2017]). In addition to the court ruling, the defendant and plaintiff subsequently entered into a settlement agreement which said, in part, that TRO would not \u201cclaim copyright in the melody or lyrics of any verse of the song \u2018We Shall Overcome\u2019\u201d; furthermore, TRO agreed that all verses of the song were \u201chereafter dedicated to the public domain\u201d (We Shall Overcome Foundation v. The Richmond Org., 330 F. Supp. 3d 960 [S.D.N.Y. 2018]).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The present arrangement is released into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll Stand the Storm \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A little-known but excellent spiritual, from the Fisk Jubilee Singers 1873 song book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Matter Though We Seek with Pain \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text is three stanzas from the long poem \u201cThe Seeking of the Waterfall,\u201d by John Greenleaf Whittier. The present version is taken from Poems of John Greenleaf Whittier, new revised edition, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1883.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune, called \u201cDevotion,\u201d was written by Alexander Johnson in 1818. The arrangement comes from the 1902 Cooper revision of The Sacred Harp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #16108 in Nicholas Temperley\u2019s Hymn Tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will the Circle Be Unbroken? \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often assumed to be a folk song, the text was published in the periodical Family Memorials in 1880, where it was attributed to Mrs. M. A. Brighma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune and arrangement were written by the nineteenth century gospel composer Charles Gabriel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woke Up This Morning \u2014 not in hymnals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first version is a simple choral arrangement, based on oral tradition, and released into the public domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second version is a lead sheet based on a recording by Pastor Jerome Jackson (youtube.com\/watch?v=4CvId9Z6ebw). N.B.: During the 1960s Civil Rights movement, Rev. Robert Wesby of Aurora, Ill., substituted the word \u201cfreedom\u201d for \u201cJesus\u201d in this song (Pete Seeger, Everybody Says Freedom [New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1989]).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wondrous Love \u2014 18<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the original words from Stith Mead\u2019s General selection of the newest and most admired hymns and spiritual songs now in use (1811). The original did in fact say, \u201cAnd while from death I\u2019m free \/ I\u2019ll sing and joyful be\u2026\u201d \u2014 this was later modified by someone with a different theology to say, \u201cAnd when from death I\u2019m free,\u201d which has a very different meaning! The original meaning is much better aligned with present-day liberal religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune comes from the 1840 revision of William Walker\u2019s Southern Harmony. The present arrangement of the tune dates from c. 1911 (when the alto part was added).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune is #33330 in D. DeWitt Wasson\u2019s Hymn-tune Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years Are Coming \u2014 166<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text, a poem titled \u201cThe Future,\u201d is often misattributed to Adin Ballou, but it was first published in September, 1848, in the Western Literary Messenger, where it was attributed to \u201cG. H. C.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two tunes are provided. The first tune is \u201cPilgrim,\u201d with which this text was often paired; this arrangement comes from the American Unitarian Assoc. Hymn and Tune Book of 1914. The second tune is \u201cHyfrydol\u201d; for notes, see \u201cCity of Our Hopes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just uploaded another batch of 26 copyright-free hymns onto Google Drive. This collection of copyright-free hymns now includes a total of 63 hymns, with 38 copyright-free versions of hymns in the two current Unitarian Universalist hymnals, along with 24 other hymns and songs (including classics like “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” and “Michael Row Your … Continue reading “More copyright-free hymns”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[104],"class_list":["post-9086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musical-arts","tag-hymnody"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9086"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9103,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9086\/revisions\/9103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}