Old Time Religion

One way of practicing my typing when I was learning that skill was to type up the lyrics to my favorite songs. I would record the song off the radio, play it back line by line, over and over making notes until I was sure of the lyrics. Then type a nice final copy. I guess Sadie and Alice didn't have a typewriter.

Handwritten lyrics to old church songs or religious folk songs were found in the old trunk in the attic. I've said before that I think my Great Grandma Sadie Negley and her sister Alice were Sunday School teachers.  They must have liked music, but I don't know if either of them could play piano or any other instrument.

Not knowing if these were real songs, I Googled each one of these and was surprised to find most of them.

"Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart", written by Lelia N Morris (1862-1929).

There are YouTube videos of this song being sung by Patti Page, the First Baptist Church of Pacific Beach, George Byrd and more. Hymnary.org  has a printed copy of the music and lyrics from as early as 1890. 

"Don't Stop Praying", written by Edna Randolph Worrell (1873-1961). A copy of this music is on her Find A Grave memorial. Edna wrote a long list of songs, "while she did her housework". The oldest copy of the music on the Hymnary website is from 1908.

"Never Alone", by Eliza Edmunds Hewitt (1851-1920). On YouTube there are a few different videos of church choirs singing a song with this title, but somewhat different lyrics than these. Again, oldest copy found on Hymnary is from 1890.

Other handwritten song lyrics include:

"A Picture No Artist Can Paint", author unknown (Ballad Index).  Apparently there are two different songs with this same title. Artists like Bobby Darin and the Leake County Revelers recorded a song by this title, but with different lyrics (found on YouTube).

"Never Pass Them By", lyrics found in a Latter Day Saints publication called Autumn Leaves, Vol 21, p 181 in 1908 (Herald Press, Lamoni, IA), without music, found on Google Books. 

"Take Good Care of Mother", by F Harding, copyright 1887.   Traditionalmusic.co.uk

"Singing of His Love", I couldn't find anything about these lyrics. The handwriting of this one is not like the others, but the paper is just as old. The first verse goes:

 "Happy as the songs that the birdies sing; are the songs of love, to the Savior King; Singing of his love makes our hearts so glad, We would never more be sad".

One song sheet was written in ink on linen-like paper and the handwriting is different. "Life's Railway to Heaven", was written by Charlie DD Tillman (1861-1943), J R Baxter and M E Abbey. A copy from 1890 is on Hymnary. Johnny Cash recorded this song and a video can be found on YouTube.

We must make the run successful, from the cradle to the grave.