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Beams of Heaven Some Day/Beams of Heaven
Gospel; Words and Music: Charles Albert Tindley; circa 1906
ARTIST: Charles Albert Tindley
CATEGORY: Traditional And Shape-Note Gospel;
DATE: 1906 Charles Albert Tindley
RECORDING INFO: Beams of Heaven
Sister Rosetta Tharpe. 1950
Mighty Mello Tones Beams of Heaven JAS c.1965
http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/34379
OTHER NAMES: "Beams of Heaven"
SOURCES: WFMU; Wiki
NOTES: African-American preacher Charles A. Tindley (b. Berlin, MD, 1851; d. Philadelphia, PA, 1933) was also a composer who wrote most of his church music for the East Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church, which he founded in Philadelphia. His church choir performed many gospel concerts.
Although written around 1906, Tindley's "Beams of Heaven" was published in 1916 in his New Songs of Paradise (copy available in the Library of Congress). Strongly apocalyptic, the text expresses the Christian's confidence that when “Jesus leads me, I shall get home someday.” That ultimate certainty gives hope and encouragement for our daily walk with God. Stanzas 1 and 2 use the rich Old Testament Exodus imagery of light and darkness to refer to times of joy and sorrow. The third stanza points from current troubles (see 2 Cor. 4:8-10) to the vision of a new creation, to "that land of peace and glory" (see Rev. 22:1-6).
Bio- Rev. Dr. Charles Albert Tindley (July 7, 1851, Berlin, Maryland, USA – July 26, 1933) was an American Methodist minister and gospel music composer.
Often referred to as "The Prince of Preachers", he educated himself, became a minister and founded one of the largest Methodist congregations serving the African-American community on the East Coast of the United States. The Tindley Temple United Methodist Church in Philadelphia was named for him.
Tindley's father was a slave, but his mother was free. Tindley himself was thus considered to be free, but even so he grew up among slaves. After the Civil War, he moved to Philadelphia. He continued his education while working as a church janitor, teaching himself Hebrew and Greek and eventually earning a doctorate. After 25 years, he became the pastor of the same church at which he had been a janitor. Under his leadership, the church grew from 130 to a multiracial congregation of 10,000.[1]
Tindley was a noted songwriter and composer of gospel hymns and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of American gospel music. Five of his hymns appear in the revised Methodist hymnal, which is used worldwide. His composition "I'll Overcome Someday"[1] is credited by some observers to be the basis for the U.S. Civil Rights anthem "We Shall Overcome,". The song "We Shall Overcome" was composed by artists at the Highlander Folk School in 1947: Tindley's song had been brought to the school in the 1930s by tobacco workers from Charleston, South Carolina. Zilphia Horton, cultural worker and educator, taught the song at the school, where others, such as Pete Seager, Guy Carawan, heard it. They altered Tindley's refrain "I'll Overcome Someday" to "We Shall Overcome" and the song was slowed down to be sung as a march hymn.
Tindley was the first hymn writer to have a hymn copyrighted. He never intended for his songs to be sung in formal worship services, but rather on informal occasions. He published a hymn collection in 1916, titled New Songs Of Paradise. First publication of a collection of gospel hymns written by a black songwriter,
New Songs of Paradise by Charles A. Tindley.
BEAMS OF HEAVEN (SOME DAY) by Charles A. Tindley 1906
1. Beams of heaven, as I go
Through this wilderness below,
Guide my feet in peaceful ways,
Turn my midnights into days.
When in the darkness I would grope,
Faith always sees a star of hope,
And soon from all life's grief and danger
I shall be free someday.
Refrain: I do not know how long 'twill be,
Nor what the future holds for me,
But this I know: if Jesus leads me,
I shall get home someday.
2. Oftentimes my sky is clear,
Joy abounds without a tear;
Though a day's so bright begun,
Clouds may hide tomorrow's sun.
There'll be a day that's always bright,
A day that never yields to night,
And in its light the streets of glory
I shall behold someday. (Refrain)
3. Burdens now may crush me down,
Disappointments all around,
Troubles speak in mournful sigh,
Sorrow through a tear-stained eye.
There is a world where pleasure reigns,
No mourning soul shall roam its plains,
And to that land of peace and glory
I want to go someday. (Refrain)
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