Answering the Call

This Sunday we shared as a congregation saying farewall to one of our stalwarts in the church.

To help share the moment with the congregation and the family, we learned the English for the hymn 522 ‘Oku kei ui ‘a e ‘Otua together with The Christian’s Goodnight (by Sarah doudney, music by Ira David Sankey) and it greatly moved the elders in our congregation.

Title: God calling yet; shall I not hear?

Author: Gehard Tersteegen (Translated: Sarah B. Findlater) m. Henry K. Oliver. Tune: Federal Street Alt. Tune: Breslau

  G                      D7       G
1 God calling yet; shall I    not hear?
5 God calling yet; I     can- not stay;

  D                         A                D
1 Earth's plea-sures shall  I     still hold dear?
5 My      heart I    yield  with- out   de-  lay;

  G                  Em         D7        G
1 Shall life's swift pass- ing  years all fly,
5 Vain  world, fare- well! from thee  I   part;

  D7            G                  D7  G
1 And still my  soul   in  slum-   ber lie?
5 The voice of  God   hath reached my heart.

Chorus
G 
God Calling yet, (oh, hear Him!)
D7
God Calling yet, (oh, hear Him!)
G      A7      D7                 G
God is calling yet; (oh! Hear Him calling, calling!)
G
God Calling yet, (oh, hear Him!)
C           Am
God Calling yet, (oh, hear Him!)
G      Em                 D7               G
God is calling yet; (oh, hear Him calling calling!)

“GOOD NIGHT” - THE CHRISTIAN’S

Author: Sarah Doudney, 1871 (music) Ira David Sankey, 1884

   G                               C                  G
1. Lay down my dear sis-ter,  Lay  down and take your rest
2. Un- til  we meet a-  gain  be-  fore His crys-tal  throne,
   G                          D                       D7 
1. I  wan- na lay your head, Upon your sav-iors  brea-st
2. Clothed in the spo- t     less robe He  gives His  own,
   G                    C      D7    C   G
1. I  Lo- ve yo-u, But  Je-sus Loves you best
2. Un-til we kn-ow ev-  en as  we    are known
  G            C      A7   D7          G
I bid you good night, good night, good night
I bid you good night, good night, good night

The Christian’s Good night has been popularised with Tongans thanks to Sione Liti’s adaptation, it’s popularity is obvious in the number of youtube remakes of the song.

'E 'Otua tataki au, Fakaulo 'ae maama 'i hoku loto
Pea ngaohi au koe fetu'u ngingila
Ko koe 'ae malohi moe mafimafi.

'E 'Otua tataki au, Fakaulo 'ae maama 'i hoku loto
Pea ngaohi au koe fetu'u ngingila
Ko koe 'ae malohi moe mafimafi.

Lay down my dear brother, Lay down and take your rest
Im gonna lay your head, Upon your saviors chest
I Love you, But Jesus Loves you best
I bid you goodnight, goodnight goodnight
I bid you goodnight, goodnight goodnight

'E 'Otua tataki au, Fakaulo 'ae maama 'i hoku loto
Pea ngaohi au koe fetu'u ngingila
Ko koe 'ae malohi moe mafimafi.

Lay down my dear brother, Lay down and take your rest
Im gonna lay your head, Upon your saviors chest
I Love you, But Jesus Loves you best
I bid you goodnight, goodnight goodnight
I bid you goodnight, goodnight goodnight

The hymn has been adapted by such a diverse group of people, including more recent recordings by artists such as:

But my favourite of the adaptations would be sourced from the islands where the above manifestations originated. The 2002 production of “Music of the Bahamas” just has a different sound to the rest.

The additional verses changes depending on the singer, but tend to be around these following rhymthms and themes.

One of these mornings bright and early and soon, goodnight
Now they're pickin' up the spirit to the shore beyond, goodnight
Go walking in the valley of the shadow of death, goodnight
He's riding a staff, gonna comfort me, goodnight

Join the wise, there's a soul to find, goodnight

Lord send a fire, not a flood next time, goodnight
To leave for the ark, that wonderful boat, goodnight
She really loaded down, getting water to float, goodnight
Now pray for the beast at the ending of the world, goodnight

So, what were the music and words in the original hymn?

G                         C           D7     C      G
Sleep on,  be-  lov- èd,  sleep, and  take   thy    rest;
Calm  is   thy  slum-ber   as    an   in-    fant’s sleep;
Un-   til  the  sha- dows  from  this earth  are    cast,
Un-   til  the  Eas- ter   glo-  ry   lights the    skies,
Un-   til, made beau-ti-   ful   by   love   di-    vine,
On-   ly  "Good night," be-lov-  èd—not "farewell!"  A
Un-   til  we   meet  a-   gain  be-  fore  His   throne,
           D7    G    D    G           D       A7    D
Lay   down thy   head up-  on   the    Sav-    ior’s breast;
But   thou shalt wake no   more to     toil    and   weep;
Un-    til He    ga-  thers in  His    sheaves at    last;
Un-    til the   dead in   Je-  sus    shall   a-    rise,
Thou,   in the   like-ness of   thy    Lord   shalt  shine,
Lit-   tle while, and all  His  saints shall  dwell  In
Clothed in the   spot-less robe He     gives   His   own,
D7   G    D7    Em    G7   C         D7    C    G
We   love thee  well, but  Je-   sus loves thee best—
Thine is  a     per- fect  rest, se- cure  and deep—
Un-  til  the   twi- light gloom be  o-    ver past—
And  He   shall come, but  not   in  low-  ly guise—
And  He   shall bring that gold- en  crown of thine—
Hal-lowed un-   i-    son  in-   di- vi-   si-ble—
Un-  til  we   know   ev-  en    as  we   are known—
     C      A7   D7          G
Good night! Good night! Good night!
Good night! Good night! Good night!
Good night! Good night! Good night!
Good night! Good night! Good night!
Good night! Good night! Good night!
Good night! Good night! Good night!
Good night! Good night! Good night!

Played here by Chris Fleischer as a dedication