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"How Can I Keep From Singing?" is the third track and a hymn cover song by Irish musician, songwriter and singer Enya from her third studio album Shepherd Moons (1991). It was released as the second single for the album on November 25, 1991 by WEA, Enya's version follows Pete Seeger's replacement of some more overtly Christian lines, for example: "What tho' my joys and comforts die? The Lord my Saviour liveth" became "What tho' the tempest 'round me roars, I hear the truth it liveth." The song was released as a single in November of the same year, with "Oíche Chiún" and "'S Fágaim Mo Bhaile" appearing as additional songs. It reached the top 50 in Australia, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Background[]

The song also known by its first line "My Life Flows On In Endless Song" originally, It is an American folksong originating as a Christian hymn. The author of the lyrics was known only as 'Pauline T', and the original tune was composed by American Baptist minister Robert Lowry. The song is frequently, though erroneously, cited as a traditional Quaker or Shaker hymn. The original composition has now entered into the public domain, and appears in several hymnals and song collections, both in its original form and with a revised text that omits most of the explicitly Christian content and adds a verse about solidarity in the face of oppression. Though it was not originally a Quaker hymn, Quakers adopted it as their own in the twentieth century and use it widely today. In 1991, the song received new prominence from Enya's recorded version.[1]

Liner Notes[]

This is based on an old Shaker hymn which I suggested as a suitable addition to the album, not only because of the beautiful melody, but the lyrical content seems as relevant today as it did 250 years ago when the hymn was written.

It is unfortunate that the Shakers are known to the world at large mainly for their ability to build and design beautiful furniture. The Shakers also wrote beautiful music and songs with which they glorified their joy in living. They lived very simple lives and their melodies reflect the beauty inherent in this simplicity.
It is not widely known that in 1846 the Shakers sent food to Ireland in an attempt to relieve the suffering during the famine, and this also held significance in our decision to arrange the piece.

Notes by Roma Ryan
Shepherd Moons Music Book, 1991

Quotes About The Song[]

Enya: "This is another song that’s very old, it’s two hundred and fifty years old and it was written in America by the Shaker sect. And I felt the melody was very beautiful, and the lyrics were very strong. They talked about the trouble in the world, the strife, the turmoil, but at the end of each verse it simply said "how can I keep from singing?". And I believe this in music, that sometime at some stage you’ve got to try and forget the trouble that is around you and try to enjoy music."
- 3LO Radio Interview, 1991
enyabookofdays.com

"It was suggested firstly by Roma and then Nicky,” recalls Enya. “They got me a copy of it and I listened to it and was drawn to the melody immediately because I have a great love for a strong melody, and this is a strong melody. Even though it’s 250 years old, and it was written in the Americas by the Shaker sect, the lyrics could have been written today because it talks about problems in the world – trouble, the strife, the tyrants. And then at the end of each verse, it simply says, how can I keep from singing."
- Jazziz Magazine, 1992
enyabookofdays.com

Enya: "Well, the hymn is two hundred and fifty years old, and it was introduced to me by Nicky, and working on it in the studio I felt, and the last verse, it was such a pity to sing “How can I keep from singing?” and to finish, so I started to hum a little melody that the piece made me feel, that would suit it, and therefore I started composing little parts of the melody to complement it, and the more I would sing and work on it, the more it became more an Enya track."
- Music From The Bridge, London Weekend Television, 1992, enyabookofdays.com

Lyrics[]

My life goes on in endless song
Above earth's lamentation
I hear the real, though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation

Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear its music ringing
It sounds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singing?

While though the tempest loudly roars
I hear the truth, it liveth
And though the darkness 'round me close
Songs in the night it giveth

No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that rock I'm clinging
Since love is lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?

When tyrants tremble in their fear
And hear their death knell ringing
When friends rejoice both far and near
How can I keep from singing?

In prison cell and dungeon vile
Our thoughts to them are winging
When friends by shame are undefiled
How can I keep from singing?

Tracklist[]

  1. "How Can I Keep From Singing?"
  2. "'S Fágaim Mo Bhaile"
  3. "Oíche Chiúin (Silent Night)"

Music Video[]

The ‘How Can I Keep From Singing?’ music video was shot at Poison Glen in Donegal. The video clip features Enya singing in a church in the Gaoth Dobhair countryside while also including archive footage of political figures such as Nelson Mandela and Boris Yeltsin, among others, and references to the Gulf War and famine. The line about tyrants trembling shows Gennady Yanayev, leader of the 1991 August Coup, in a press conference with visibly trembling hands—apparently toward the end when the coup was unraveling. It includes archive. The video leaves out the middle part of the song.

Charts[]

Chart (1988) Peak position
Australia (ARIA) 47
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 41
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 69
Ireland (IRMA) 19
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 29
UK Singles (OOC) 32

Trivia[]

  • There was a copyright controversy over this song. Enya and her record company were sued for copyright infringement by Sanga Music, Inc. for recording this "traditional" number because she had mistakenly credited this track as a "traditional Shaker hymn," thus assumed it as public domain. The third verse was, in fact, penned by Doris Plenn in 1956, who learned it from her grandmother, who claimed it had been written in the early days of the Quaker church. Folk legend Pete Seeger helped make the song fairly well-known in the 1950s by publishing it with Plenn’s additional third verse in his folk music magazine Sing Out! (Vol. 7, No 1. 1957), recording it, and mistakenly credited it as a "traditional Quaker hymn" without copyrighting Plenn’s verse, thus presenting the entire song as "public domain." It was again published by Sanga Music, Inc. in 1964. Its origin and controversial legal status was later clarified and settled in court in 1992: it was neither a traditional Shaker nor Quaker hymn—it’s actually a Sunday School song written by Rev. Robert Lowry that was published in a songbook he edited titled Bright Jewels for the Sunday School (New York: Bigelow & Main, 1869). Because Seeger presented the new verse as being public domain, the court decided that Plenn had lost her rights and Enya could use the verse without paying royalties.[2]

References[]

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