Old Hundredth

Sunday I recognized this hymn tune (one of the few I recognize by name) and mentioned it to one of my kids. I probably heard, sang or played this tune almost every Sunday throughout my childhood. We sang it as The Doxology: Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

Who would have thought the brief mention of the tune's name would stick in my child's mind. You never know what will!

A few days later the child brought up the name of the tune and informed me that they had made up words about it....along the lines of "There is a song called Old Hundredth, its a hundred years old...."

So we looked up some info (how did we learn things before Wikipedia?), learned that its about 460 years old, and I made up some of my own words about the origins of the tune, that can be sung to it. I had fun. Maybe it will turn into a fun learning tool. We'll see.

Maybe a reader out there will make up some more words to familiar tunes that we could use to learn the music of our tradition and the history and meanings that come with it. Serious or funny or whatever you like. You don't have to be a music scholar. Do you ever make up different words for Row, Row, Row your boat? Then you can do it.

Aside from the question of alternate lyrics, what are your favorite hymns? What hymns would you like your kids to learn?