8 Morning Has Broken

This song has a rather unusual story complete with interesting twists and turns.  We think it was probably a Galeic hymn tune originally.  In Scotland in the 1880s,  a wandering minstrel was singing the tune when someone noted the melody and preserved it for posterity.  In 1918, a Scotish poet put words to the melody using the title: "Child in the Manger."  In the 1920s, the editor of a British hymnal was looking for a light and happy hymn to sing at the beginning of a new day, and he wanted it sung to the old Gaelic tune.

Eleanor Farjeon,  a well-known playwright, novelist, and journalist, who had been on a long spiritual journey, was invited to write words to the tune now known as Bunessan.  Eleanor, who became an Anglican as a teenager was originally of Jewish descent.  She had dabbled in "alternative" beliefs including reincarnation.  She was received into the Catholic church when she was 70 after living a Bohemian lifestyle.  She called the text based, on Genesis 1:5,  "Thanks for the Day."

The song took its most famous twist in the 1970s when it was recorded by a devout Muslim....Cat Stevens;  it made it to the top of the pop charts.

Please enjoy this version, sung by Steven Curtis Chapman.  This video is especially appropriate for those of us who live on the coast.