Music For February 2, 2020

Dear GCC Choir,

Lise has chosen two anthems for this Sunday's service:

Give Me Birds at the Dawning by Betsy Binstock
The
recording is the original Sop/Alto/Baritone arrangement. For this
Sunday I have added a bass part so it is SATB (which you can see in the
"LOOK" link).

Brotherhood & Sisterhood by Peter Amidon
Mary
Alice and I will play banjo/guitar and sing verses 1-3. All will join
us on the SATB chorus and on the unison fourth verse.  You can hear the
harmony singing at the very end of the recording (3:12).

LYRICS

Give Me Birds at the Dawning
Betsy Binstock


Give me birds at the dawning

birds at the dawning,

birds at the dawning

to sing my soul awake

 

Give me roses at sunrise . . .

 

Give me breezes at midday . . .

 

Give me rainbows at teatime . . .

 

Give me flames in the sunset . . .

 

Give me candles at twilight . . .

 

Give me love in the evening . . .

 

Give me moon in the nighttime . . .

 

Give me birds at the dawning . . .


    *      *      *     *

Brotherhood and Sisterhood

by Peter Amidon

Commissioned by
Lititz Elementary School

Lititz,
Pennsylania

 

Some are tall and some are small and some are wide or thin,

And there is great
variety in the color of our skin.

Some of us were born
right here, and some born far away;

We call this gift
diversity and that is why we say:

 

Brotherhood and sisterhood doesn’t mean
we’re all the same;

It means we all have equal rights, now just
let me explain:

It
means we love the differences and I’m so glad you came.

 

Once when we had moved and it was my first day in school;

I was in the playground
all alone and feeling like a fool.

A kid came up and said
to me, “It looks like you are new,

Why don’t you come join
my friends or else we will join you.”

 

There was a time I’d join my friends in teasing someone else,

But then one day the
tables turned and I got teased myself.

Now bullying is teasing
with an extra dose of pain,

And I’ve found that it
hurts a lot so I don’t join the game.

 

So now when I see bullying there’s three things I might do,

I say “You should stop
saying things you wouldn’t want said to you.”

Or find a teacher, Mom
or Dad to see what they might say,

Or take the one who’s
being teased and help them walk away.


*      *      *     *


See you at 8:55 am for our 9:00 am rehearsal Sunday.


Best,


Peter

Peter Amidon