Recently we sang a hymn we don’t regularly sing. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure I’d never heard it sung in a service before. Despite not having heard it in the past, it was very recognizable because the music was the same tune as an old favorite. We commented on the tune being the same. A few days later, a member of the choir, Bill Hammons sent me this e-mail with some of his research on the song. I found his research interesting and I liked the hymn, so I’m passing along his research for you here:

One of the most loved Welsh tunes, Hyfrydol was composed by Rowland Hugh Prichard. He wrote it in 1830 when he was only nineteen years old. For more information, look here: https://hymnary.org/tune/hyfrydol_prichard

Various sources translate the Welch word “hyfrydol” as “tuneful” of “pleasant” or “cheerful.” Google translates it as “lovely.”

Hyfrydol appeared in Hymns of the Spirit (“the old red hymnal”), set to words by Charles Wesley, “Love divine all loves excelling….”

The tune is used in three hymns in Singing the Living Tradition:

1. #140 Hail the Glorious Golden City
2. #166 Years are Coming
3. #207 Earth Was Given as a Garden

I particularly like the last one, #207. I suspect this earth-centered hymn is the version that resonated with Peter Mayer and inspired him to adapt the tune for “Blue Boat Home.” (Fun fact: I (Bill) had the pleasure of hearing Peter perform it on Emerson’s chancel at a UniTunes event many years ago.)

On her Notes from the Far Fringe blog (www.farfringe.com), Reverend Kimberly Debus shares this anecdote:

At General Assembly in Louisville in 2013, despite terrible cell reception, many attendees endeavored to live tweet the events as they unfolded. On Friday morning, we sang Blue Boat Home. Friend and colleague Hannah Roberts made a comment to her friend Meredith Lukow, who tweeted:

… because like “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, it is a popular song that people longed to hear, often requested, and reacted to in a kind of rock-anthem awe. The joke spread like wildfire, being retweeted and remarked upon throughout the days. On Sunday morning, Bill Schultz preached about the earth and its inhabitants, and as he finished (to great applause), the band began playing this song. To which Twitter – and more than a few voices in the room – shouted “FREEBIRD!” and more than a few hands in the room held up their hands as though holding a lighter. It was an hysterically transcendent moment.

Kimberly’s further comments about the hymn are worth reading, if you’re up for a deeper dive.

Thanks to Bill for sending this along. I hope you enjoyed it.

Rev. Ed Proulx