Music and Texts of GARY BACHLUND
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On "Heaven's Bright Shore" - (2024)
The tune is found in Songs and Rhymes for the South by E. C. Perrow. The collections were released in volumes, over time. 270 texts was published in three parts in three different editions of the Journal of American Folk-Lore: Vol. 25- 1912; Vol. 26- 1913; and Vol. 28- 1916. One learns, "At the time Songs and Rhymes was published Dr. Perrow was a professor of English at The University of Louisville in Louisville, KY."
Noted as from East Tennessee circa 1905, the text is: "We have fathers gone to glory, (thrice) / Gone to Heaven's bright shore; / Some bright day we'll go en' jine 'em (thrice) / On Heaven's bright shore." Of this and other tunes and texts, Perrow writes, ""Of such communal origin are, without question, the group of songs that run a sentiment through the entire list of relatives and neighbors. They sometimes find their way up into printed hymn-book versions; but one never sees the name of the author. They have come from the heart of the folk."
It seems apt to recall then the subtle little humor "collected" in my travels in the South: "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go today." Today it's is time for a good and bright tune.
3 pages, circa 3' 00" - an MP3 demo is here:
The score is available as a free PDF download, though any major commercial performance or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the composer. Click on the graphic below for this score and parts.
