It was nineteen-ninety-something and I was working graveyand at a copy shop on Mesa Street in El Paso. It was well after midnight and I was reading Losing Battles by Eudora Welty and listinening to some classic rock station when I was absolutely astounded. I knew the voice well: Van Morrison. But the song was unfamiliar: "I'm Not Feeling It Anymore." Well, I felt it. After sleeping off my overnight shift, I hopped on a bus and headed to the mall to purchase Hymns to the Silence.
The album is a two CD-set and for the first year I listened primarily to disc one. Then something wonderful happened. It disappeared. I lost it, or perhaps it was stolen. Marci would say, ridiculing me, that "a bear at it." Anyway, it vanished. Although I still love the first disc, the heart and soul of the album is disc two, where Morrison focuses on his own poetry in the songs, "On Hyndford Street" and "Pagan Streams" and traditional hymns, like "Be Thou My Vision."
I thought it would be nice if I started posting hymns on Sunday along with scenes of the changing seasons at Dry Creek. I intended to photograph, research and write on Saturday, so that I could post early Sunday morning. As you can see, this week that didn't happen. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your Sunday Morning, even if it is realy Monday or Tuesday night.
About the Song
Commonly attributed to Dallan Forgaill, "Be Thou My Vision" is a common hymn around the world. The original text dates to the Sixth Century, but the song didn't evolve into it's present form until 1919. The poem was translated from old Irish to English in 1905 by Mary Elizabeth Byrne and versified in 1912 by Eleanor Hull. In 1919 it was put with the Irish folk song, "Slane" and published in the Irish Church Hymnal (wikipedia)
Dry Creek, March 15, 2014
Looking up through the oak & maple at the bottom of Dry Creek Canyon.
Where did you find all those wonderful weeds for the portrait of Mt. Catherine? I love the blues skies even if many of them are too blue. I love the song and the concept of a Sunday morning hymn. Very, very nice!
Where did you find all those wonderful weeds for the portrait of Mt. Catherine? I love the blues skies even if many of them are too blue. I love the song and the concept of a Sunday morning hymn. Very, very nice!
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