Mortals & Angels: A Bluegrass Te Deum

Carol Barnett

I. ANGEL OF GOD (traditional prayer)

(Mortals)
Angel of God,
My guardian dear,
To whom God’s love
Entrusts me here,
Ever this day
Be at my side
To light and guard
And rule and guide.

II. TE DEUM (traditional)

(Angels)
Te Deum laudamus (O God, we praise Thee)
Te Dominum confitemur. (We acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.)
Te aeternum Patrem (Everlasting Father)
Omnis terra veneratur. (All the earth doth worship Thee.)
Tibi omnes Angeli; (To Thee all the Angels cry aloud)
Tibi caeli et universae Potestates; (the Heavens and all the Powers)
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim (all the Cherubim and Seraphim)
Incessabili voci proclamant: (unceasingly proclaim)
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, (Holy, Holy, Holy)
Dominus Deus Sabaoth. (Lord God of Hosts.)

(Kids and Mortals)
All of earth adores thee,
Lord God above. Mortals–

(Angels)
–et Angeli…

(Kids and Mortals)
–Fathers, mothers, children,
Uncles, aunts and cousins,
Adore Thee, adore Thy creation.

III. WHO MAKES THE SUN TO RISE?

(Mortals)
Who makes the sun to rise?
It ain’t me.
Who makes the rain to fall?
It ain’t me.
Who turns the chilly winter to spring?
It ain’t me, oh Lord, it ain’t me.

Can you make the sun to rise?
Nor can we.
Can you make the rain to fall?
Nor can we.
Can you turn the chilly winter to spring?
Nor can we, oh Lord, nor can we.

IV. HOLIER THAN THOU

(Mortals)
(Chorus) You want us to harken and take heed?
You want us to scrape and bow?
You want us to fall on our knees?
Then drop that angel attitude,
Holier than thou.

You got that angel attitude,
Holier than thou.
Make yourselves unpopular?
Holier than thou.

Down here, we don’t have time for that
Holier than thou.
If you come down to earth, come all the way,
Not holier than thou.

V. IDUMEA (traditional)

(Mortals)

And am I born to die?
To lay this body down?
And must my trembling spirit fly
Into a world unknown?

A land of deepest shade
Unpierced by human thought;
The dreary regions of the dead
Where all things are forgot.

Soon as from earth I go
What will become of me?
Eternal happiness or woe
Must then my portion be.

(Angels)
Waked by the trumpet’s sound
You from your grave shall rise,
And see the Judge with glory crowned,
And see the flaming skies.

VI. BAD DAYS ARE COMING

(Kids)
(Chorus) We know bad days are coming.
The shores start to crumble
And the glaciers all shrink,
The rivers dry up
And there’s nothing to drink.

And the air is all ashes.
Soon nothing will thrive,
And the cities are burning,
And zombies arrive.

VII. WE DON’T STAY AFRAID FOR LONG

(tune co-written by Jamie Dailey and Carol Barnett)

(Mortals)
Frighten us with the wrath of God,
But we never stay frightened long.
Hell to pay, but you know us,
We don’t stay afraid for long.
God help us, we don’t stay afraid for long.

Oh, some of us believe in zombies,
Some, in fairies and elves.
Some of us believe in angels,
And some of us just believe in ourselves–

We may not have the sense
That God gave geese.
We don’t have the wings
Of angels. But Lord Almighty,
We do have nerve,
And we don’t stay afraid for long.

VIII. DOWN TO THE RIVER

(adapted from the poem by Lisel Mueller)

(Archangel)
The sun drapes the river
With a shiver of light.
The children come down to be healed.
The fathers who gave them
Their wounds and their bruises
Come to be healed of their rage.
The mothers grow lovely; their faces soften,
The birds in their throats awake.
They stand hand in hand
And the trees around
Lean over them, singing of heaven.

IX. JACOB WRESTLED WITH THE ANGEL

(Mortals and Archangel)
Jacob’s people crossed the river
While Jacob stayed on alone,
And caught him an angel, laid hold of an angel,
Though Jacob was frightened to the bone.

(Chorus) Oh, Jacob wrestled that angel;
They wrestled till the break of day.
“I won’t let you go till you bless me,” said Jacob,
Though the angel tried to get away.

The angel never tired for a minute,
Though he wanted to be gone.
“I won’t let you go till you bless me,” said Jacob,
So the two of them wrestled on.

Jacob got a cramp in his elbow,
In his knee, in his shoulder, in his hip.
“Let’s shake hands and go,” the angel said,
But Jacob was too stubborn to quit.

“Okay,” said the angel, “I’ll bless you,
“Cuz it looks like you’re in pain.
Okay,” said the angel, “I’ll bless you,
But first I gotta know your name.”

(Final chorus) Oh, Jacob wrestled that angel;
They wrestled till the break of day.
“I won’t let you go till you bless me,” said Jacob,
Though the angel tried to get away.

X. EVERY STEP TO HEAVEN IS HEAVEN

(All)
(Chorus) Ev’ry step to heaven is heaven.
Every step to heaven is heaven itself.
Every step to heaven is heaven.

Every step to heaven is heaven.
Through the valley of shadow,
Through the valley of light,
Every step to heaven is heaven.

Every step to heaven is heaven.
Through the valley of laughter,
Through the valley of tears,
Every step to heaven is heaven.

XI. ANGELS HOV’RING ’ROUND (traditional)

(All)
There are angels hov’ring ’round
To carry the tidings home
To the New Jerusalem.
Let all that hear them come.
There are angels hov’ring ’round.

XII. ANGEL BAND (adapted from the hymn by Jefferson Haskell)

(All)
The latest sun is sinking fast,
My race has yet been won.
The troubles of the day are past,
Toward sleep I gently turn.

(Chorus) Oh come, angel band,
Come and around me stand;
O bear me away on your snowy wings
To my eternal home.

I know I’m near the holy ranks
Of friends and kindred dear.
I brush the dew on Jordan’s banks;
The crossing may be near.

Whene’er I turn to God above,
My spirit loudly sings.
The holy ones, behold they come;
I hear the noise of wings.

—Marisha Chamberlain

MICAH 6:8

            Lisa Fuglie and Mark Anderson, arr. Carol Barnett

The wrongs of one to another can seem too much to understand.
We hate in turns, we never learn.

An eye for an eye leaves both blind. It’s a pound of flesh for an ounce of crime
And no one wins, the wheel just spins.

CHORUS
He has shown you, oh man, what is good; what does Yahweh require of you?
Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.

Let mercy fall like gentle rain, without compulsion, without strain.
When grace is real, we all can heal.
When we forgive another’s debt, we free ourselves to love, and yet
We honor those we miss the most.

This light of mine is not my own;
It shines from these few seeds I’ve sown.
On just terrain will mercy reign.

            —Lisa Fuglie and Mark Anderson

INTO THE FIRE

            Lisa Fuglie, arr. Carol Barnett

Three men don’t know what to do.
How can they turn their back on God?
King Nebuchadnezzar said, “Your God is not the truth.
Renounce, or you must go

Into the fire.
Go into the fire,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.”
And they went into the fire.

How can this be? There are not three
But four, standing in the flames.
This king will concede, “Bring them to me.
Their God is the One who saves

From the fire.”
They went into the fire,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Not alone in the fire,
There were four in the fire.

When those who wield the power say you must do
That which goes against our God,
Don’t be afraid. You are not alone;
Have faith, even as you go

Into the fire.
Go into the fire
Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

Feed the hungry, clothe the poor.
When they knock, open up your door.
God is seen in everyone.
Let us pray His kingdom comes.
Love your brother as yourself.
Love defies the fires of Hell.
Illuminate the false command;
Take a step for God and man.

Step into the fire,
Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
They went into the fire,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

—Lisa Fuglie