At Morningsong yesterday, Pattie Bagley performed and once again sang "Amazing Grace." She also told us the story of how the hymn had come to be translated into Cherokee. The Cherokee were, for the most part, Christians before the the shameful Removal of the tribe from their homelands to Oklahoma. On the Long Walk, also known as The Trail of Tears, many, many people died. There was no time for proper funerals -- just a quick burial and the singing of "Amazing Grace." In Cherokee. It was sung so many times that it came to be known as the unofficial anthem of that persecuted nation.
I've included a video I took -- but am not sure if it will play on Blogger. If not, I'll have a try at posting it directly to Facebook where I know many of you have a presence. The sound quality doesn't do justice to Pattie's lovely voice -- but at least I kept quiet when the audience was singing along. (I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, as they say.) And I found a link HERE to a Youtube video of Pattie singing AG in an informal setting -- very brief but better sound quality than mine.
