Simple Gifts
Quaker-inspired folk song
Simple Gifts is a Shaker hymn composed in 1848, best known for its melody, which Aaron Copland used in his ballet *Appalachian Spring*.
The song celebrates simplicity and humility as spiritual virtues: 'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free.
The tune has become emblematic of American folk tradition and appears in hymnals across denominations.
- ShakerAustere religious communalist
- hymnReligious song of praise
- plainBasic and unremarkable
- plain livingUnpretentious daily existence
- humbleUnassuming about oneself
melody · folk · dance · valley · bow · bend · freedom · gratitude · Appalachian · Aaron Copland · Martha Graham · turning · delight · prayer · harvest · community · offering · handmade
- shakerssalt shaker, pepper shaker, cocktail shaker, sugar shaker, parmesan shaker
- CoplandBilly the Kid, Our Town
- Hymn TunesSt. Anne, Aurelia, New Britain, Antioch, Stuttgart
- hymnsAmazing Grace, Old Rugged Cross, Morning Has Broken, hymn, hymnal
Simple Giftsgrand opera
Fully sung dramatic spectacle
Handel's Messiah · symphonic poem · orchestral suite · fugue
simple, gift, simply, simplify, simplicity, simpler, simplest, simplistic, simplified