photo of three crosses under dark skies

The girls have been fooling around with the old hymn “Kneel at the Cross.” It’s a song I grew up singing in church and Pap and his brother recorded it on one of their tapes. Listening to that old tape is where the girls got the idea to start singing the song.

A quick google turned up this information about the song from the page Wordwise Hymns.

Kneel at the Cross

Words: Charles Ernest Moody (b. Oct. 8, 1891; d. June 21, 1977)
Music: Charles Ernest Moody

Charles Moody was a Georgia composer and musician who played the fiddle, the banjo and the harmonica. He came from a musical family, and music was in his blood. He is said to have traded a shotgun for his first fiddle.

In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s Moody was a member of the legendary Georgia Yellowhammers, a secular string band (that recorded Pass Around the Bottle, and other songs). Charles Moody wrote a popular novelty number, The Song of the Doodlebug, but he also contributed around a hundred gospel songs.

His compositions (such as 1924’s Drifting Too Far from Shore) became standards of southern gospel music. Kneel at the Cross was published in 1948. After the Yellowhammers disbanded, Moody was for many years the choir director of the Calhoun Free Methodist Church.

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I hope you enjoyed the old hymn.

 

Tipper

Come cook with me!

hand holding apple

MOUNTAIN FLAVORS – TRADITIONAL APPALACHIAN COOKING
Location: John C. Campbell Folk School – Brasstown, NC
Date: Sunday, August 23 – Saturday, August 29, 2020
Instructors: Carolyn Anderson, Tipper Pressley

Experience the traditional Appalachian method of cooking, putting up, and preserving the bounty from nature’s garden. Receive hands-on training to make and process a variety of jellies, jams, and pickles for winter eating. You’ll also learn the importance of dessert in Appalachian culture and discover how to easily make the fanciest of traditional cakes. Completing this week of cultural foods, a day of bread making will produce biscuits and cornbread. All levels welcome.

Along with all that goodness Carolyn and I have planned a couple of field trips to allow students to see how local folks produce food for their families. The Folk School offers scholarships you can go here to find out more about them. For the rest of the class details go here.

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14 Comments

  1. Wonderful tune! I’m neither Christian or religious but I love that old time southern gospel. Thank you.

    Hank

  2. I have never heard this song before, but I like it. The girls’ harmony and instrumentals made the song.

  3. thanks girls its so nice to hear the old hymns some of which are actually older than me and thats definately saying something have a great week people

  4. Loved the song and the girls did a great job singing it!!!! My church has two services and I attend the early one that is called Traditional cause I love the old hymns. The Contemporary service has some songs that may be o.k., but I don’t enjoy them like the old hymns. The old hymns touch my heart.

  5. Excellent post for a Sunday Morning or any morning, Tipper!….As usual, I enjoyed the music by Chitter and Chatter…..They give clarity, meaning and expression to the hymns they sing…..I especially loved this one, Kneel at the Cross…..

    I’m glad you thought to include the discussion of it on Wordwise Hymns by Robert Cottrill…..However, I cannot agree with him as he spoke of that one particular aspect of the song!….He would have people chained to guilt as an expression of worship to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…..It is my understanding that Jesus came to set us free to live life and live it abundantly in joy unchained from sin…..In doing so we all can live a life of happiness in this world regardless of our mortal circumstances…..That is how I choose to live!….In doing so, we are free to express our true daily gratitude for what God has done for us all…..

    Kneel at The Cross then rise up in glory and joy with our Lord every day we are alive!

  6. Grew up singing that one and we still do from time to time. I think though that many churches no longer sing that kind of music. Without passing judgment, I just couldn’t feel at home in a church without the ‘old tyme’ songs.

    Thanks for this on a Sunday morning. In 14 days it will have been 54 years ago that I met “him whom my soul loves”. Mr. Moody must have known him to.

  7. Good job Girls, that is one of the Old Favorites of mine. I grew up hearing this song all my life, until you have done what the song says you cannot understand, the lyrics are just words put to music, afterwards the true meaning comes to life and you hear it with a different ear. Roman 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

  8. Good job and nice song! You had 35 posts yesterday that must be a record number of comments. You should be teaching classes on how to run a successful blog!

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