h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have been enjoying your hymns this month. This Entry contains many of my favorites.
I hate to suggest one of my own, as I do not know what you have planned for us.

A few years ago I watched a show that featured historical cabins and buildings that had been moved to a special place for preservation in the Carolinas. Each episode opened with a woman singing a haunting hymn.

I had to do a little research to find it had been written by the Shakers (a strange cult of the 19th century). Among other strange beliefs they danced at their meetings, this is a beautiful song sung by children http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLAnuG1340g

I am not sure why, but I enjoy it a great deal.

F S

Hey, thanks, FS - I'm glad to hear from a fellow hymn fan.

What a cool video! Thanks for sharing that. Those kids are just plain sweet. You know why the girls are dancing together, don't you? The Shakers danced with the men and women in separate groups. Like the German Pietists called the Harmonists, they lived celibate lives, which is pretty much why there aren't many around today. The last group, I think, is at Sabbathday Lake, Maine - it's near Poland, where the bottled water comes from.

'Simple Gifts' is one of my favourite songs. Which makes me think, I might should look up some more Shaker hymns, they were pretty amazing people. The Quakers aren't too big on singing, but they'll make exceptions for Shaker hymns and the works of Sydney Carter.