Happy hymns and brand new hims


It's always a special treat at church when we get to sing "Go Tell Aunt Rhodie." You know: Go tell Aunt Rhodie, go tell Rhodie, go tell Aunt Rhodie the old grey goose is dead. Always with that song, it's grey with an e, even though I just googled the lyrics (dark lyrics, them) and it had gray with an a. It's not a terribly popular hymn, so when on that special occasion we do get to sing it, and always at the end of the meeting, I get really excited and want to do like I did when I was a child, and look around the congregation to see if anyone else thinks it's funny that we're singing "Go Tell Aunt Rhodie." Nobody ever seems to think it's funny, but oh! how it makes my day.

It reminds me of that time when someone had recorded two movies from the tv onto the same video tape and, every day for an entire summer, Neil and I and probably Abby and sometimes Sarah, but probably not Ryan would watch (edited for tv) Ferris Bueller's Day Off followed by (edited for tv) Dirty Dancing. I mean, we watched them every day. The great thing was, Jennifer Grey (always with an e) was in both movies. Pre-nose job.
Well, sometime after this summer of great cinematic indulgence, we were sitting in church and the congregation began singing the closing hymn, and Neil and I looked at each other and burst out in hysterical laughter. We were singing the song from Dirty Dancing! Even some of the lyrics were the same: "voices, hearts, and hands." Many a time, including tonight (unsuccessfully), I have pored over the hymn book, trying to find that one hymn that is from Dirty Dancing. It makes me so happy. Bonus points if anyone out there knows the hymn to which I refer. I will find it soon, even if I have to play every hymn on the piano until I recognize it. I've done it before and I'm not above doing it again.

Anyway, there's another song that I sometimes hear in church that makes me really excited, too. On rare occasions, I will be early to church. Also on rare occasions, the organist will be playing classical music for the prelude. Okay, mostly just this one organist named Rita Mitchell, but Rita Mitchell used to play classical prelude organ music, and if things were going my way, and I was there early to experience it, she would play the second movement from Beethoven's Pathetique. This was so awesome. I would have Billy Joel in my head for the whole rest of the day. "This night is mi-i-i-i-ine. It's only you and I. Tomorrow is such a long time away. This night will last forever."

In unrelated and much more important news. . . . I have another adorable nephew! Owen is his name and sleeping is his game. He is adorable. Congratulations, Sarah and Mark!

Comments

This is weird but we were watching the new Harry Potter movie and I swear one of the songs in the middle, I think the classical piece at the ball, sounded just like, " For Jesus Died On Calvary".

It was very disconcerting to watch the rest of my beloved witchcraft and wizardry film while thinking of Church hymns. Conflicted, for sure!
Neil and Diana said…
Kellerman's Anthem? We can't wait to see both boys and hear them baby-talk in concert.
Emily said…
Yes, it is Kellerman's Anthem, but it does go by a different name in the hymn book.
I don't know which hymn it is but this post was really, really awesome.
Anonymous said…
I am pretty sure I have never seen a Jennifer Grey double feature, although I'm man enough to admit to seeing a Patrick Swayze double feature.
lemoniepants said…
are you in my ward? we sang that hymn and i almost sang "aunt rhoda" to my husband. but i was sure i was the only one who sang that in my head!
Anonymous said…
Emily, you crack me up! I certainly remember those golden summer days... I always keep my ears perked for the Dirty Dancing hymn (that sounds bad) too! Whenever I hear it I look around for Baby's sister doing sign language in a tropical getup. And I'm always disappointed.
Eliza said…
I think you're thinking of the "blessed, honored pioneer" song.

Whatever it's actually called.

But there's definitely a resemblance there.
Anonymous said…
I'd just like to say that "She's like the Wind"--another one of those Dirty Dancing great songs, was the first song I ever slow-danced to. Jason Hoyt and I were at our first ever church dance--they let the Deacons go to two dances a year, and my first was the Valentine's dance--so this month is the 18th year annaversary. He was dying to ask Erin Robinson to dance and finally worked up the courage on the last song--the above-mentioned. So there I was, a wall flower, all on my own. A girl that was either Heather or Hawna Hiert (sp?) (there were identical twins) came up and told me that everyone had to dance on the last dance, so I had to dance with her. Assertive girl--not bad looking either. So we danced. It was a great moment in the life of a newly twelve-year-old. It changed my feelings for the song--which I had always disliked up until that point.
Emmie said…
Finally, someone who understands! Every time we sing that hymn, I'm singing in my head: "She died in the morning, she died in the mo-or-ning..." and giggling to myself.

I also think it's funny that the hymn "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken" is the same Haydn tune as the German national anthem. Maybe in the German hymbook it's set to the tune of "The Star- Spangled Banner."
Emily said…
Eliza, I got excited that you knew the hymn, but now I can't decide if it is the one or not. It seemed more dead-on than that, but I cannot seem to find the one I remember from the summer of Dirty Dancing (and I've been through the hymn book twice.) So, you win the bonus points for Possibility. Thanks for trying to ease my troubled mind on the subject.

Steve, honey, is this really the forum for daydreaming about hot girls who asked you to dirty dance in the seventh grade? Have some respect for your pregnant wife, would ya?
Neil and Diana said…
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Anonymous said…
Was that the official announcement?... btw, I just read the title of this post for the first time...i like it! very clever.

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