2010/05/02

History of a Song: May - “Give, Said the Little Stream”


This song was written by Franny Crosby Van Alstyne. Frances Jane Crosby was born in Putnam county, New York on March 24th, 1820. Although born a healthy child, when she was six years old she developed pus in her eyes. A treatment by the local physician caused permanent blindness. Her father lamented at the time, “What kind of life can a blind girl have? Who will want our precious Fanny?” Her father died less than one year later. Her mother read to her everyday from the Bible and her mother told her at one point - “Two of the greatest poets are blind. At times the Lord takes something physical in order to awaken a greater spiritual insight”. From a young age, Frances loved poetry and she was very close to her grandmother who made the bible and the outside world 'real' to her- she could picture everything from her grandmother's descriptions. While others told her that she couldn't do things because she was blind, her grandmother encouraged her to have faith, boundless ambition, and the courage to do both. In 1828 she wrote her very first poem at only eight years old. In 1835, she left her family and went to study at a school for the blind in New York City. She spent the next forty years there. As she grew and learned, she decided to become a teacher. In 1844, she met the founder of the New York Tribune Horace Greenley and soon after he began to publish her poetry. She married Alexander Van Alstyne in March 1858, another student from the same school that she had grown up in and worked as a teacher. By the end of her life, she had written by all accounts around 4000-8000 poems/hymns. She died in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1915.

The music was written by William Batchelder Bradbury. He was born in Maine in October 1816. By the age of fourteen, he had mastered almost every musical instrument with the exception of the piano. He was also known for writing the music to many other popular hymns including “Jesus Loves Me” and “Sweet Hour of Prayer”. He met Frances in 1864. They spent 4-5 years writing together until he died of consumption in January 1868.

This song has gone through a few small changes over the years. Additional lyrics were written a few years ago by Kimberly Brown... they are:

Give what is in your heart
Give away, Give away
Give what is in your heart
And your heart will ever live

Laugh when you're filled with joy
Laugh away, laugh away
Laugh when you're filled with joy
For laughing's giving too

Snap!
Tap!
Clap!

Give all you've got to give
Give away, give away
Give all you've got to give

Sing when your heart is full
Sing away, sing away
Sing when your heart is full
For singing's giving too

This song is in hymnals for many Christian denominations including the Baptists and LDS faiths. The song has been sung by many organizations and group and was most recently recorded and released on the “The R.M.” movie soundtrack. Due to the popularity and common knowledge that the song has developed over time, it has even been used as a title for a dissertation by Helen Ruth Aspass (Give said the Little Stream: An urban stream cleanup’s impact on scholarly advancement and community enhancement.) A few individuals have used the title name for the name of their posts in their blogs describing the donation of blood, an 'anthem of liberal mormonism' and more.

This song has always been a favorite of mine. I have always loved the images of service and sacrifice as well as the images of joy. Bug loves this song and will happily sing it with almost everyone and he will jump and dance while singing it- he is unable to just sit and sing it as it gives him such a feeling of happiness. So, what are your thoughts on this song? What does it mean to you? The story of Mrs. Crosby Van Alstyne was amazing and inspiring! What did you think of her?

27 comments:

  1. I'm sorry--I have no personal insight as to the meaning of this song. Apparently Methodists don't sing it!

    However, the brain scientist in me is screaming, "WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE PIANO?!?!" Is it just that he didn't have access to one? Pianos might have been few and far between in Maine in the 1830's. (For that matter, what instruments were common? Fiddles? When was the harmonica invented? Portability seems key.) If that's not it, though, I wonder why he was not able to pick it up the way he did other instruments.

    These ramblings brought to you by a dinner consisting of salad, white wine, and cookies.

    CWB

    ReplyDelete
  2. He didn't have access to one poor guy! And I love your ramblings... can I hear more?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have to perform for my Granddaughter's kindergarten class on the 18th so am collecting children's songs. I thought of this one but am unsure of the words, so I googled it. What a treasure I've discovered! I'm going to use 6 string guitar.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Daddyo - That sounds lovely. :) I hope you have a great time and performance and I am glad that I was able to give you some useful information! I try to research one song a month and I do take requests if you have something specific and no immediate time frame. Take care....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sent., 1845, p.40).Tais-toi, mon bébé; piano!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful website you have here but I was curious if you knew of any message boards that cover the
    same topics discussed in this article? I'd really love to be a part of group where I can get suggestions from other
    knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest.

    If you have any recommendations, please let me know.

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pianos are a fascinating compromise, as any orchestra instrumentalist could affirm. I love this song, and I love Fanny for filling her life with creating meaning, which is ultimately, that is when all is said and done, the greatest gift humanity has to give. jcs

    ReplyDelete
  8. Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources
    back to your site? My blog is in the very same niche as yours and my users would
    truly benefit from some of the information you provide here.
    Please let me know if this alright with you. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your site?
    Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could
    a little more in the way of content so people could connect
    with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one
    or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Marvelous, what a blog it is! This website provides useful information to us, keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  11. An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who was doing a little homework on this.

    And he in fact bought me lunch due to the fact that I stumbled
    upon it for him... lol. So allow me to reword this....

    Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this matter
    here on your web page.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wonderful post! We will be linking to this particularly great
    content on our site. Keep up the great writing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi there! I could have sworn I've been to this website before but after checking through some of the
    post I realized it's new to me. Anyways, I'm definitely delighted I
    found it and I'll be bookmarking and checking back frequently!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love what you guys tend to be up too. This type of clever work and
    exposure! Keep up the very good works guys I've incorporated
    you guys to blogroll.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have read so many articles or reviews on the topic of the blogger lovers however this
    piece of writing is actually a fastidious paragraph, keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What's up, just wanted to say, I liked this post. It was
    helpful. Keep on posting!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Just wish to say your article is as astonishing. The clearness for
    your publish is just nice and that i could assume you are knowledgeable on this subject.

    Well along with your permission let me to snatch your RSS feed to stay up to date
    with imminent post. Thank you 1,000,000 and please keep up the rewarding work.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This text is invaluable. When can I find out more?

    ReplyDelete
  19. An impressive share! I've just forwarded this onto a colleague who has been conducting a little homework on this.
    And he in fact bought me dinner simply because I discovered it for him...
    lol. So allow me to reword this.... Thanks for the
    meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to discuss this issue here on your web page.

    ReplyDelete
  20. An outstanding share! I've just forwarded this onto a coworker who had been conducting a little homework on this.
    And he in fact bought me lunch simply because I discovered it for him...
    lol. So let me reword this.... Thanks for the meal!!
    But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this
    subject here on your web page.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Heya i am for the primary time here. I found this board and
    I find It truly helpful & it helped me out much. I am hoping
    to offer one thing again and help others such as
    you aided me.

    ReplyDelete
  22. We're a gaggle of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community.
    Your web site provided us with useful info to work on. You
    have performed a formidable job and our entire neighborhood will be grateful
    to you.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Does your blog have a contact page? I'm having trouble locating
    it but, I'd like to shoot you an email. I've got some ideas for your
    blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way,
    great blog and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Good information. Lucky me I recently found your site by chance (stumbleupon).
    I've bookmarked it for later!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks for your wonderful story. I feel a connection to Franny and am very grateful to now know the background of this story.
    I am looking forward to sharing the following experience with you!
    I grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Daints (Mormom) and as a young adult, I had the great blessing of serving as a missionary in Scotland. The Scottish children also love this song, only they changed some of the words..."Gae said the wee, wee burne..gae awa, gae awa..." etc.
    Just a couple years ago, because of some severe health problems, they had my husband and I attend church in a little congregation in a nursing home. After just a few weeks, I recieved a most powerful feeling I was supposed to sing the Scottish version of, Give Said the little stream, to a very elderly woman in the congregation. Of course I pushed the thought aside, thinking I would never go and sing a children's song to someone I barely knew.
    However, the pressure to sing to this woman would not leave me and I knew eventually I was going to have to go through with it, how or when I did not know.
    When the church service ended, many of the congregation went to the adjoining lunchroom to wait for lunch. As I walked out with my walker and oxygen, I noticed this elderly woman sitting at a table at the end and I would need to walk right past her! Terrified, I sat down and told her my experience. She and a couple frieds sitting with her looked at me like I was nuts.
    I began to sing. Suddenly I felt as if angels were singing with me and this dear woman was crying.
    After the song ended and we all regained composure, the sweet woman told me that her grandfather came from Scotland and he sang that song to her all the time when she was a little girl. The experience that day brought back a flood of memories for her, including a powerful feeling her grandpa loved her and was watching over her.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wow, I really enjoyed reading all of these comments, particularly this last one from montanayoda. I, too, am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and teach the children music in Primary. This week I am teaching Give Said the Little Stream and wanted some history of the woman who wrote the lyrics and the gentleman who wrote the music. I loved reading all of this. Thank you to each of you who shared.

    ReplyDelete