Thanks, Geo., for the inspiration, and thank you, Harlem Boys Choir for your rendition. (Please note the volume goes from quiet to fairly loud and you may wish to keep your hand on the volume button toward the end.)
Written by Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller in 1955. According to the Wikipedia entry, the original lyrics for the song have
been altered on many occasions for differing reasons, including for
gender neutrality, and for secularity (where "God as our Father" is
replaced with "Earth as our Mother" or "love as our compass"). Whatever
words you sing, the tune is unforgettable.
Lyrics in this version:
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let there be peace on earth
A peace that was meant to be
With God as our father
Family all are we
Let us walk with each other
In perfect harmony
Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now
With every step I take
Let this be my silent vow
To take each moment
And live each moment
In peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
*****
*****
I want to remember "... let it begin with me" every day, and the beauty of this arrangement plus the harmony and pure voices of this choir will surely help me do that.
Happy New Year, my friends.
22 comments:
Well, I must say this is not a very auspicious beginning to the blogging year . . . I just accidentally deleted everyone's comments. Some I can reconstruct because they come through my email account; others I can't because they only land on the Blogger comments page.
I don't want to leave anyone out, so I'll just say thank you for reading and commenting, and I'll be back on Friday :) My apologies!
It is a lovely piece indeed. For next time, Joeh told me of a great fix when you make a techie style boo boo. Control Z undoes your last action. Try it, it actually works.
I will try it--does it work in Blogger? I looked for an "undo" button which I thought was the same as Control Z and there was none. Aargh!
I remember signing that beautiful piece in junior high chorus class.
Love,
Janie
Jenny, look on your computer keyboard, find the key that says control and press the letter Z at the same time you press the control key...
Happy New Year!
What an amazing piece. It gave me chills. And the lyrics "Let there be peace on earth And let it begin with me" is right on. Thanks for sharing this. Happy New Year!
haha! tech gremlins strike us all and i suspect they are mostly self inflicted!
The song is beautiful and I wish you well for the coming year!
That was beautiful, Jenny. And it just so happens that I have been obsessively listening to choir music this week, from the Coastal Sound Youth Choir in Canada. They did a thing they called "Indiekor" in which they performed covers of indie rock songs live, backed by a rock band called the Salteens. A bunch of their stuff is on YouTube, along with a bio video called "Indiekör: 65 Kids, 1 Voice".
Anyway, the video you posted reminded me of one of the CSYC's videos, called "Prayer for a Child" so here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd2xKDW6x0Y
Hope you have a wonderful year in 2018.
-Doug in Oakland
Okay, then, I'm back with a bit more time on my hands so will dust off my old "copy/paste" skills and post at least the comments that I still have in my email:
Elephant's Child:
"Let it begin with me is a powerful mantra I will try and adopt.
Thank you and Geo.
And here's to a kinder and gentler year ahead."
--Thank you, EC. Returning those wishes to you as well. Hugs, dear friend.
_________________
Jimmy:
"This is a very beautiful version, a perfect way to start my day, Thank you Jenny."
--Thanks for listening, Jimmy :)
_________________
baili:
"Awesome song dearest Jenny!
thank you for sharing this glory my friend
Happy new year to you and beautiful family ,may you see many more years of joy ,health and peace dear .
sending you a warm hug and heartiest best wishes:)"
--Thank you baili; the same to you in every way!
______________________
Red:
"All the best to you in 2018. Keep on blogging. You got a good blog going ."
-- How could I not find some way to post such a compliment from the winner of the 2018 Laughing Horse Award?! Seriously, I appreciate your praise, Red. I enjoy yours, too.
____________________________
Joanne Noragon:
"Happy new year to you, dear Jenny."
--And to you, Joanne, my friend.
_________________________
Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe:
"I used to love singing this in church, when I went to church."
-- Lucky you, Arleen, to get to sing this in church! I actually enjoyed quite a few of the church songs when I went, but we didn't sing this one.
____________________
Geo.:
"It's 2:38 a.m. on the first day of a new year, a new promise, and I am grateful to you for this post. I am also 68 years old and very sleepy, so I' just say I think I'll go lie down. I say that oftener lately. Have the best year ever --you'n me both--deal? G'night."
--It's a deal, Geo. :) I hope you had a good sleep to start the year off right!
____________________
Marie Reid:
"Love this version! Thank you for sharing and Happy New Year!"
-- Thanks, Marie - the same to you :)
______________________
Steve Reed:
"Happy New Year, Jenny!"
--Back atcha, Steve :)
________________________
Those are all I have; thanks to anyone else who took the time to leave a comment!
It would make a wonderful piece to learn as a chorus.
Next time, e; next time for sure! Happy New Year to you, too.
It made me quite weepy the first time I listened, so I know what you mean ... Happy New Year, Martha!
This one was most definitely self inflicted :)
All the best for 2018, kylie!
They're very good; I enjoyed listening to several of their pieces. Thanks for the link.
Happy New Year, Doug - all the best to you!
I love that, it's so beautiful. I never remember more than the first line, but "let it begin with me" is so important.
I used to attend a Sunday service in the world famous Alice Tully Hall that ended with the entire auditorium singing this song. Gave me goosebumps every time. It's why I went.
I love this haunting rendition too. And the thought that *I* can contribute.
That must have been amazing! I had to look up the Alice Tully Hall - what a beautiful place.
Hi Jenny,
What an inspiring piece of music. Or, maybe that should be "peace" of music.
Thank you for putting up that video.
Wishing you the most wondrous and positive 2018, my nice friend, Jenny.
Gary 😀
Thank you, Gary - the same to you! And happy punning :)
What a nice way to start 2018! Thanks, @jenny_o. :-)
The down side is that I've had this stuck in my head for a week now . . . oh well, makes it easier to remember to be peaceable :)
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