Shall We Gather At The River..... June 14th 2014 At Swain's Lock On The C&O Canal And The Potomac River We Certainly Did

2014

Shall We Gather At The River

1. Shall we gather at the river,
   Where bright angel feet have trod,
   With its crystal tide forever
   Flowing by the throne of God?
   • Refrain:
     Yes, we’ll gather at the river,
     The beautiful, the beautiful river;
     Gather with the saints at the river
     That flows by the throne of God.
2. On the margin of the river,
   Washing up its silver spray,
   We will talk and worship ever,
   All the happy golden day.
3. Ere we reach the shining river,
   Lay we every burden down;
   Grace our spirits will deliver,
   And provide a robe and crown.
4. At the smiling of the river,
   Mirror of the Savior’s face,
   Saints, whom death will never sever,
   Lift their songs of saving grace.
5. Soon we’ll reach the silver river,
   Soon our pilgrimage will cease;
   Soon our happy hearts will quiver
   With the melody of peace.

This is the song that came in my head Saturday at Swains Lock. We had gathered at the Potomac River for a family get together.
I didn't know it at the time but this song was sung live at the funeral of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas.   He is the man who saved the C&O Canal when others wanted to pave it over for a super highway.  And Swains Lock is one of the locks on the C&O Canal. And it meant a lot to Rachel Lefebure Stewart as you can see and read in the posts below this one.
My brother would say that was not a co incidence but an example of synchronicity.

 e Shall We Gather at the River (Falling Skies).
"Shall We Gather at the River?" or simply "At the River" are the popular names for the traditional Christian hymn titled "Hanson Place," written by American poet and gospel music composer Robert Lowry (1826–1899). It was written in 1864 and is now in the public domain. The title "Hanson Place" is a reference to the original Hanson Place Baptist Church in Brooklyn, where Lowry, as a Baptist minister, sometimes served. The original building now houses a different denomination.
The music is in the key of key of D and uses an 8.7.8.7 R meter. An arrangement was also composed by Charles Ives, and a later arrangement is included in Aaron Copland's Old American Songs (1952). The song was sung live at the 1980 funeral of American Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas.