Drewa Piano Studio

This prayer is older than the printing press, the Reformation, and most countries on Earth.

"Be Thou My Vision" traces back to an Old Irish poem believed to date to roughly the 6th to 8th century — making it over 1,400 years old. Tradition has long associated it with Saint Dallán Forgaill, an early Irish monastic poet, though scholars debate exact authorship given how oral and manuscript traditions evolved over centuries.

For most of its existence, it wasn't a "hymn" in any modern sense at all — it was a Gaelic devotional poem, passed through Irish monastic communities, in a language and form completely disconnected from the English-speaking hymn tradition that would emerge a thousand years later.

It wasn't until the early 20th century that the poem was translated into English prose by scholar Mary Elizabeth Byrne, then versified into singable verse by Eleanor Hull in 1912. It was later paired with the Irish folk melody "Slane," giving it the form most Christians recognize today.

That means the words being sung in modern churches every Sunday are older than the English language as we currently speak it, older than the Church of England, older than the Catholic-Protestant split, and older than virtually every hymn tradition that followed it.
A monk's prayer from before the Viking Age is still being sung in churches that didn't exist for another thousand years after he wrote it.
Share this with someone who loves how deep church history actually goes.

"Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart."

Most people know “Take Five” as the unlikely jazz hit in 5/4 — but the story behind what happened to the royalties is even more unusual.

The piece was written by saxophonist Paul Desmond, not Dave Brubeck. And in his estate planning, Desmond specified that his entire share of royalties from “Take Five” would go to one organisation: the American Red Cross.

It wasn’t a publicity move. His will quietly directed all future proceeds from the tune to support humanitarian work.

Since his death in 1977, that gesture has been estimated to generate more than $6 million for the Red Cross — all from a single composition recorded in 1959 for the album Time Out.

A jazz musician writing a 5/4 tune that becomes an international standard is already unusual.
Turning the royalties into long-term support for a charity is almost unique.

So, do your part for charity today and listen to it on repeat!

[📸 Public domain photo of Paul Desmond]

Joe Negri, jazz guitar virtuoso and Mr. Rogers’ ‘Handyman,’ dies at nearly 100 Joe Negri, one of America’s best jazz guitarists and a key part of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” died Saturday, just days short of turning 100. Lisa Negri, his oldest daughter, said that her father died of natural causes. He and his family, along with many in Pittsburgh&rsqu...