Sunday, February 27, 2011

Simple Sunday

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

This lovely tune is from the Shakers -- an odd religious sect that created some beautiful furniture, ingenious inventions, including a flat broom, and brought a welcome new aesthetic to America. They're well worth learning more about.



 
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22 comments:

Unknown said...

Beautiful simple Sunday and interesting about the Shakers. Thank you vicki for sharing.

Martin said...

A perfect Sunday post, Vicki. Great rendition by Alison Krauss. She's an adventurous artist, collaborating with Yo-Yo Ma and Robert Plant, in recent years.

Marilyn & Jeff said...

Such a beautiful Sunday post. I enjoyed the video, such gentle music and your photos are lovely, especially the your last one. It is very beautiful in it's simplicity.

Witch of Stitches said...

Lovely song. Thanks for sharing it. XO

Brian Miller said...

nice...peaceful...and i like the one petal....

jennyfreckles said...

What a lovely post. The single petal is exquisite and I enjoyed the video. We should all be happier if we were satisfied with what we have and sought a simpler life, I feel.

Pat in east TN said...

A nice way to start a day ....

Evalinn said...

That´s beautiful!

Sally said...

The Shakers worked hard in their simplicity.

In this world, the simplist gifts maybe the hardest to find.

Kath said...

Simply beautiful gift from you. Thank you.
Here in central KY, there is Shaker Village. A preserved historical site where the Shakers lived and worked. Beautiful in its simplicity and the gift of work. In that work they introduced packaged seeds! THank you to them. And the garden I'm starting from seeds right now.

NCmountainwoman said...

Great post I had not heard those two performing that wonderful song. Thanks for sharing with us.

Deanna said...

Beautiful thoughts. Beautiful pictures. Beautiful music.

The Shakers are fascinating. Their history was included in some of my college coursework - although these many years later, the class I was taking at the time escapes me.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Tess Kincaid said...

I love this song and was so pleased when it was played at President Obama's inauguration.

Brenda said...

I love this song but never knew it came from the Shakers. Great reminder in these complicated times. That photo of the single petal is spectacular. Wouldn't that be wonderfu enlarged to be wall-sized??

Anonymous said...

Jenna at Cold Antler Farm blog posted a version of this with video of her sheep this morning...also lovely. Funny how things crop up again and again sometimes!

Louise said...

I have a tin ear, Vicki, but even I can take so much pleasure in those two extremely talented artists performing a song full of so much meaning. Thank you!

Stella Jones said...

Very nice Vicki. I love your picture of the red berries. No wonder people eat them when they shouldn't.

Folkways Note Book said...

Vicki -- I live by the Shaker Museum in KY and find my visits there inspiring for their simple ways of life. Yet the Shakers rigid lifestyle eventually led to their demise. Facinating culture -- barbara

Merisi said...

Oh, the light, that rose petal, exquisite!

I love Shaker style, especially their built-in chests and drawers.

Reader Wil said...

Thank you for this beautiful song, and who could play it better than Yo Yo Ma!

Vicki Lane said...

I adore YoYo Ma's music - and Alison Kraus's voice is magic.

The Shaker Village is worth making a trip to see. Those folks were amazingly creative -- maybe because celibacy, one of their tenets, gave them a lot of extra energy. But it also didn't give them a future.

Darla said...

thank you so much . . . so lovely . . .