Oh, how I love public television, particularly Sunday afternoon offerings. This past Sunday, I caught a very short segment that lasted just a few minutes. Featured was a song that I remember well from when I was a teenager and a member of the Grange, in my hometown. Scenes of sunset were chosen as a backdrop to the sung words of the old, nineteenth century hymn. I know not the religious preference of the eighteen year old woman who wrote the song in 1854, but this song has universal appeal.
“Fill brightest hours with labor, Rest comes sure and soon,” is a poignant message that is not dissimilar to other written sentiments of the same century and those before. Man lives life one day at a time, but we all have that knowledge, whether we want to think about it or not, that we shall not ALWAYS be here.
I love the words and the melody of the song and it was made even more meaningful, accompanied by visuals, and of course, because of the song’s connection to my past.
At the time, I was only fourteen years old and a member of a dwindling group of steadfast and devoted Grange participants. We were quickly losing the older members through attrition, and one by one, they left our midst. Do you have any idea of how strange it felt for me to be the youngest in a group of seniors, some in their late eighties?
Grange meetings were sort of like going to Church. The group emphasizes the care of growing and living things, be they plants or people; the care of the orphans and the widows; and the support of each other.
Anyhow, I decided to record the song for you to hear. I offer it as a “piece of my past,” and as a window into what life was like in the mid-nineteenth century when the song was written, and the 1960s, when I first became acquainted with this piece of music.
Best Regards,
Pat
