When I'm On My Journey

One Nightingale thought that Bimsey Kirkpatrick wrote new lyrics to the song "When I'm On My Journey," but when I did a search for the original, I came across an online exchange that points to nearly identical lyrics. Perhaps the small differences are due to "the folk process."

When I'm On My Journey
aka On My Journey
Source: The Weavers' Song Book (1960, Harper)
(new verses by Darling/Gilbert/Hays/Hellerman)

When I'm on my journey, don't you weep after me,
When I'm on my journey, don't you weep after me,
When I'm on my journey, don't you weep after me,
I don't want you to weep after me.

Every lonely river must go home to the sea
[alt. ...must go down to the sea]
Every lonely river must go home to the sea,
Every lonely river must go home to the sea,
I don't want you to weep after me.

When the stars are fallin' and the thunder starts to roll
[alt. When the lightning flashes...]
When the stars are fallin' and the thunder starts to roll,
When the stars are fallin' and the thunder starts to roll,
I don't want you to weep after me.

High up on the mountain, leave my sorrow down below
[alt. ...leave your troubles down below]
High up on the mountain, leave my sorrow down below,
High up on the mountain, leave my sorrow down below,
I don't want you to weep after me.

Tuna casserole parody of Whispering Hope

From A Prairie Home Companion, November 8, 1997
Found in an online exchange.
. . . . . . . . .

Soft as the voice of an angel
Breathing a message unheard,
Hope with its gentle persuasion
Whispers her comforting word.
Fixes a comforting hotdish
Served from an old china bowl,
Noodles and tuna and mushroom soup.
Tuna, the food of my soul.

Refrain:
Whispering tuna, how gentle thy voice
Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.

Then when the night is upon us,
And the sad toll of the bell,
What is that light in the kitchen?
What is that heavenly smell?

(THEY BOTH SING REFRAIN)
Whispering tuna, how gentle thy voice,
Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.

-----THE ORIGINAL-----

Whispering Hope
Words and music by Septimus Winner,
under the pseudonym Alice Hawthorne, 1868

Soft as the voice of an angel,
Breathing a lesson unheard,
Hope with a gentle persuasion
Whispers her comforting word:
Wait till the darkness is over,
Wait till the tempest is done,
Hope for the sunshine tomorrow,
After the shower is gone.

Refrain:
Whispering hope, oh how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.

If, in the dusk of the twilight,
Dim be the region afar,
Will not the deepening darkness
Brighten the glimmering star?
Then when the night is upon us,
Why should the heart sink away?
When the dark midnight is over,
Watch for the breaking of day.

(Refrain)

Hope, as an anchor so steadfast,
Rends the dark veil for the soul,
Whither the Master has entered,
Robbing the grave of its goal.
Come then, O come, glad fruition,
Come to my sad weary heart;
Come, O Thou blest hope of glory,
Never, O never depart.

(Refrain)

Summer Nightingales 2010

Nearly 40 Friends from the Milwaukee, Madison, and Twin Cities area gathered at John and Robin's family farm in southern Wisconsin on a hot summer's weekend. Thanks to Robin, Susan, and many others who helped prepare the house, land, and food.

We learned a new round, thanks to Mickey of Chicago:

I like a nice cup o'
Tea when I wake up in the morning
That's when the sun is a-risin' and a-dawnin'
Whoa, wouldn't that be the ticket!
Floatin' in the sea
Sippin' cups o' tea

We also continued to thresh ideas for providing continuity from gathering to gathering, with some Friends affirming that since each host-area offers its own flavor of setting and hospitality, we may do well to allow for differences from place to place.

In addition, a number of Friends who attended this spring's Nightingales at a park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin indicated it would be worth returning to that site in 2011 in April.

But in-between summer Nightingales and spring Nightingales, there's fall Nightingales! The fall gathering is planned for some time in October 2010, before Halloween weekend, and it will be held, most likely, in a southwestern suburb of Milwaukee.

More details to follow.