By NANCY JANE KERN
“When through the woods and forest glades I wander, and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; ”
(Stuart K. Hine version 1953)
TORRENTIAL RAIN ENDED last night and gave way to a glorious October morning. My church chose this hymn, “How Great Thou Art,” by Kline, which brought back my maternal grandmother’s love of the song.
It was a new song that resonated with us, and her gift to me of years of piano lessons paid off. Her beautiful voice and musical talent had faded, and she often requested I play and sing this with her. Elvis Presley released an album of Gospel Music titled “How Great Thou Art” in 1967 and won a Grammy Award for Best Sacred Performance. After this Gram somewhat forgave me for playing my record of Elvis singing “You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog.”
Gram’s elderly voice was amazing, and as I sing now with my elderly voice there is no comparison. When asked if I am a musician, I always say I learned enough to appreciate those who are.
Certainly, the bird songsters are included too. The hymn is based on an original Swedish Christian hymn entitled “O Store Gud” written in 1885 by Carl Boberg (1859–1940). It went from Sweden to nearby Estonia, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Germany, England, New Zealand, India and to the United States with the help of missionaries, literally around the world. We think of birds and other forms of life migrating, but other things migrate too. It was sung to Queen Elizabeth II of England, troops during wars, and at evangelical gatherings.
This morning the beautiful blue skies of October are clear and dotted with those big puffy white clouds we love. The combined Holidays of Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day are being celebrated throughout our country. Columbia County has a rich foundation of Native American history both good and regrettable which we are trying to remedy. These proud people incorporated nature and birds into their beliefs.
This is bird migration time, and I am sure it inspired them as it does us today. I look up to the sky and watch the streams of soaring hawks heading south. I once attended a funeral of a birdwatcher that included a very sad friend of Adirondack Abenaki ancestry. As the burial ceremony at the cemetery ended, I told Laurie to look up. Everyone looked up at a circling red-tailed hawk looking down and loudly calling. Everyone smiled including the priest, who turned to me and nodded.
Today I again see soaring birds heading south including a majestic bald eagle. Most of the sweetly singing birds have left and have been replaced by the raucous hawks, crows, and blue jays. Maybe a sweet song is in the ear of the beholder. I just rejoice and appreciate them all.
