In the Salvation Army we have a tradition of using lots of alternate tunes for our songs. Our songbook (not hymnal...) is printed without music - just the lyrics. And nearly every song is listed with several suggested melodies. Further, there is a metrical index of the songs and tunes to provide a quick reference for all those other melodies.
It's a fun game sometimes. You can sing Amazing Grace to House of the Rising Sun and the theme from Gilligan's Island (though neither of those tunes is in our tune book...)
Last night a friend posted a list of ten reasons why the congregation might not be singing. Number six on this list was:
"Montreal Citadel" is a march written by Salvation Army composer, Norman Audoire, to honor the Salvation Army corps in Montreal, and one of the melodies used in the march has become a favorite within the Salvation Army.
It's often used at summer camps to sing a prayer before meals:
Be present at our table, Lord,
be here and everywhere adored;
these mercies bless and grant that we
may strengthened for thy service be.
In response to the list, a friend responded (with feigned offense), "Hey! It's a great tune that we don't hear nearly enough of..."
To which another friend responded (with even greater feigned offense), "THAT IS A LIE! A dirty dirty lie! I REBUKE YOU IN THE NAME OF RAY STEAD-MAN ALLEN!" (Steadman-Allen is another beloved Salvation Army composer..)
This was a response that I noted could, itself, be sung to "Montreal Citadel."
ReplyDeleteThe trio DOES have a set of words written for it. They are:
Twas Jesus Who came my soul to reclaim,
And now I am free, Oh, praise His dear name!
His blood meets my need,
On His Word I feed,
And that's why I'm happy, Indeed!
And as far as table grace goes, there are also two final lines..
"May strength-ed for Thy service be."
and
"Feast in Paradise with Thee."
And they used to tell us which one they wanted before we sang... As kids.. I think most of us would have rather feasted than be strengthened..