Church Music

This is a song based on Colossians 3 by Father Jim Cosgrove. It was the title track of a 1985 collection and apart from that I can find nothing about this song anywhere. He cowrote the song with G. Quaglio. It’s a song about being grateful, which is always a good thought.

It may not have been published as sheet music because the editors have transcribed it in their house style.

I made a backing:

1 You are God’s chosen people he loves you tenderly,

So be clothed with the cloak of compassion

And with gentleness and kindness,

Forgive as Jesus does, let your patience reflect his own.

Chorus

So sing psalms and hymns to God, with songs your Lord adore,

With thanksgiving in your hearts praise his name,

With thanksgiving in your hearts sing praise to God.

2 And over all these garments to bind them all as one,

Put on love as your crown to complete them,

Let the peace of Christ be with you,

Because it is for this as Christ’s body you have been called.

Chorus

3 So always be ye thankful, be filled with gratitude,

Let Christ’s message be richly within you,

In all wisdom teach each other.

Sing psalms and hymns and songs, do all things giving thanks to God.

Chorus

© 1985 Jim Cosgrove

There was an album in 1985 called, With Thanksgiving in Your Hearts, by Father Jim Cosgrove. Two songs from it wound up in the Praise to God parish hymn book.

This song suggest itself for entrance on Palm Sunday.

I’m assuming he is the “singing priest” from this article. He was lauded on Australia All Over:

Australia Army Chaplain. Padre Jim Cosgrove is a person who supports, comforts, encourages, informs and inspires other Australians, both within the armed forces and in the larger community. It’s for these reasons that we named him our Australian All Over for the year 2014. We will post a profile of Padre Jim on our website shortly.

He appears to have stayed in the military.

I can’t find any trace of the sheet music, I’m afraid. He does have a linked in account if you are desparate to find him for the music.

Chorus

Open the gates of holiness, I will come and praise the Lord.

This is the gate of holiness where the just may praise the Lord.

Glory and praise to you who have answered my prayer.

Praise to the Saviour, Alleluia praise the Lord.

1 Blessed is he who comes to us in the name of the Lord.

Blessings upon the Holy one, from the temple praise the Lord.

Come now to strengthen us, be the light of our way.

Grant us salvation, Alleluia praise the Lord.

Chorus

2 Come forward in procession to the altar of the Lord.

Come forward in procession and with branches praise the Lord.

Praise him, O Praise our God for his love does not end.

Come now and worship him, Alleluia praise the Lord.

Chorus

© 1985 Jim Cosgrove

The title track from Kevin Bates‘s album, Whispers, was chosen for the Praise to God parish hymn book by the Dominican Fathers.

I can’t find any sheet music for this one and it isn’t listed on One Licence as far as I can see. It doesn’t look like anyone has taken over his website since his death and this may not be a Willow copyright like the others.

It’s more a personal reflection than a song for liturgy but he makes a good point that is more relevant now than forty years ago when he write it.

I made a backing:

1 Everybody has a story, everybody has a song.

Everybody has a people and somewhere to belong.

But some have lost their story and some forget their song.

Some don’t know where they’re going to ‘cos someone else forgot to sing along.

Chorus

But there’s whispers in their/our/my memory, pictures from the past.

What about the future? “Come to me and rest” they’ll/we’ll/I’ll hear at last.

2 Some people don’t remember, people cannot hear.

People have a time to beat and products to prepare.

We all enjoy our privacy, we all sing our own song.

But much too loud for harmony, we don’t need them to come and sing along.

Chorus

3 I sing too loud to hear the song that quiet moments sing.

I run too fast to notice what the silence has to bring.

I hear his voice impatiently, then I race on anyway.

I’m into sound not silence and I don’t need him to come and have his say.

Chorus

4 It sounds a sorry story, it sounds a broken song.

And it sounds as if we’re frightened and we’ve nowhere to belong.

But listen to the gentle voice that from the silence springs

And hear the Spirit calling as a people comes to life creation sings.

Chorus

© 1985 Kevin Bates SM

This is another gentle song from Kevin Bates SM, that was collected from his album, Whispers, for the Praise to God parish hymn book.

It sounds like a song for Lent, but you could imagine it for a funeral. Willow suggest it for a wedding, but they have always been far tougher than I.

This is a Willow copyright and an MP3 is available at their site but no sheet music. They would still be your first port of call if you needed the sheet music.

PTG at least had the chords this time so no guessing for my backing. It is marked at a tempo of 85, but I took it up to 96.

1 Long have I loved you, for long have I been

Lifted by your love to sing.

Long have I waited to tell you this way,

Just how near I hold you today.

2 Remember the times we both lost our way,

Each on a cross seemed to die.

Remember the morning when rising again,

The world hardly had time to cry.

3 Still we must listen for what is to come.

Loving can never stand still.

Watching and waiting and shaping our way.

Lord, all our story will fill.

© 1985 Kevin Bates SM

This is a delightful hymn in an Irish style by the late Father Kevin Bates.

It was collected from his album, Whispers, for the Praise to God parish hymn book.

I can’t see that this is in print, although the MP3 can be purchased at Willow, where you can also hear a snippet of the song. Apart from contacting Willow, who hold the copyright, directly, I’m not sure how to get the sheet music for this one.

PTG is once again melody line only but it is probably a four chord song and I guessed those four chords.

1 Come ring out our joy to the Lord.

Come ring out our hope in his promises.

Let more of his people welcome his news.

Chorus

Come ring out loud, come ring out strong,

Come live anew, life in him.

2 Come celebrate life with our Lord.

Come show him our thanks for his promises.

Let more of his people move to his song.

Chorus

3 Come remember the people he loves.

Come remember the poor and his promises.

Let more of his people remember his plan.

Chorus

4 Come free hearts and give him your best.

Come show him your joy in his promises.

Let more of his people follow him free.

Chorus

5 Come young folk and old folk to him.

Come show people hope in his promises.

let more of his people love life as one.

Chorus

© 1985 Kevin Bates

Father Kevin Bates had a collection called Whispers in the 1980s and the Praise to God parish hymn book used seven songs from that album.

Some of these are better known and I have already blogged them: “A Trusting Psalm“, and “Our Supper Invitation“. They also list “Take and Eat” from that collection but my books say that is by Phil Bates.

Unfortunately, this one’s sheet music might be hard to track down. Father Bates died last year and while his music is published by Willow and this song is listed as their copyright on One Licence, it does not appear to be available for download there. If you need the sheet music though, that is where I would start.

PTG just has melody line, so my chords for the backing are guesses.

1 Lord of morning light and Lord of all creation’s song,

We only faintly see your glory, faith is tested long.

2 Lord of all the hope within your people’s hearts we pray,

You open eyes and hearts see you faith tonight give way.

Chorus

When I call my people home to see me face to face,

Then shall the hearts that hoped in Jesus find their resting place.

3 Lord of morning noon and evening, Lord of all our song,

We still only faintly see you, make our faithing strong.

Chorus

4 Lord of morning light and Lord of all creations song,

We celebrate this joyful hope, our faith will see us home.

From the seemingly inexhaustible supply of Gregory Norbet songs from the Weston Priory, the editors of the Praise to God parish hymn book chose this seventies song from the collection, Wherever You Go.

I’m not sure this can be sung unironically now but maybe I’m just an old cynic.

The sheet music can be purchased at the Priory site and the text is here.

There are a few more Weston Priory songs that made it into the Praise to God parish hymn book, this one from the collection, Winter’s Coming Home.

“Shepherds and Kings” was written by Gregory Norbet and is a sprightly Christmas song. The sheet music is available in a collection of organ music at the Priory site.

You can also find the lyrics there and sing along with my backing:

The other famous Loreto Sister songwriter from Australia is Deirdre Browne and a song attributed to her, “Gift of Peace” was taken from the collection Throw Open Your Hearts for the Praise to God parish hymn book.

This song is so far out of print it seemed to leave almost no trace on the world.

I found a reference to the original record from 1967 at Discogs.

I found this song from the album to give you an idea of their sound:

I found this uncredited backing:

I made my own backing:

Refrain

His peace he gives to us, his peace he gives to us,

Not for us alone, but that we might give it again to everyone.

1 All who look for God in the depths of their hearts

Will find a hidden quiet, that nothing can disturb or take away.

2 All who see their lives as an open door,

Through which all come and go to love and give again, will know true peace.

3 All whose joy it is to discover the world,

And meet the eyes of God in the beauty that is his, will sing of peace.

4 All who know that God has prepared them a home,

For all eternity to rejoice and to be free, will have true peace.

The text might appear dated but I find it congenial. One problem is that the Dominican Fathers have altered the words in some way, but I found the lyrics to the chorus on Facebook that went:

‘His peace he gives to us, His peace he leaves with us,

Not for us alone but that we might give it again to all men.

and elsewhere:

The man who looks for God in the depth of his heart…

… so maybe they just tidied up the unnecessary maleness.

Then to add to the weirdness and obscurity, I found this song attributed to Sister Germaine Habjan. I also found an old article in The Catholic Transcript, Volume LXXIII, Number 11, 3 July 1970, page 8, alluding to Sister Germaine’s song.

I did check at Godsongs earlier and found nothing but with all this extra information I found Mary’s post on this song and sheet music.

Apart from thanking the Dominican Fathers for dropping the key from G to E, the mystery remains, which nun wrote the song. The sheet music in PTG says by permission of Allan’s Music Australia, so I assume they claimed copyright. Looking back at the Discogs information for the Loreto sisters 1967 record, this song is attributed to the Glenmary Sisters, which is Germaine Habjan’s convent. My best guess is that the error was made by the editor of PTG when transcribing the music and the song is by Sister Habjan.

At this point I was going to have a look at songs from The Comforter album by Paul Gurr, which is largely composed of Brian Boniwell songs, but in the interim I have a come across a copy of the full sheet music to that collection and will do the whole thing together in the future. Since some of the Boniwell songs in PTG are melody line only and I was making up my own chords for the backings, I’d rather revisit them with the proper chords and get it right.

Which leads me to a collection of songs by Loreto sisters, Throw Open Your Hearts, from which PTG picked two songs, including this one from Anne Kelly IBVM. Anne Kelly is Paul Kelly’s older sister so music runs in the family. This is an entrance song conveniently noted to be in march time.

The words and sheet music are at Catholic Utopia.

Neither of these backings is suitable for much more than learning the tune.