Blogger’s note: Didn’t I start out to write about simplicity here? Lately, I’ve been too much distracted by the noisy turmoil of political and economic change. It occurs to me that politics and economics do not seem to lead to peace and simplicity. Certain songs lead back to simplicity.
“How Can I Keep From Singing” is often identified as a Quaker hymn. However, the music was written by a Baptist minister, Robert Lowry, and first published in 1868, according to Wikipedia. The words are attributed to “Pauline T.”
Almost makes me forget anxiety and worry.
How Can I Keep From Singing
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- My life goes on in endless song:
- Above earth’s lamentation,
- I catch the sweet, tho’ far-off hymn
- That hails a new creation.
- Through all the tumult and the strife
- I hear the music ringing;
- It finds an echo in my soul–
- How can I keep from singing?
- My life goes on in endless song:
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- What tho’ my joys and comfort die?
- The Lord my Saviour liveth;
- What tho’ the darkness gather round?
- Songs in the night he giveth.
- No storm can shake my inmost calm,
- While to that refuge clinging;
- Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
- How can I keep from singing?
- What tho’ my joys and comfort die?
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- I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;
- I see the blue above it;
- And day by day this pathway smooths,
- Since first I learned to love it.
- The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
- A fountain ever springing;
- All things are mine since I am his–
- How can I keep from singing?
- I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;
Living Simply And Still On The Grid 