Song No. 4 from Hymnody of Earth
Text by Wendell Berry

The Wild Geese presents the singer with a wonderful journey. First we have the poetry of Kentucky writer and farmer Wendell Berry, whose Sunday morning meditations on the land around his home bring a sense of reverence that is both vast and intimate. The phrase “abandon as in love or sleep, holds them to their way,” describes the passage of a flock of migrating geese overhead. His imagery traveling by word is now transported by song as well. The words bring on a new way of remembering a common sight. In song, these words become a high unison descant that resolves into a chant-like prayer. The song becomes a new way to remember those words. It is therefore very important that the singers imagine and discuss the imagery of the song so that the meaning of the words can soar rather than the words being used as mere vehicles for sound and rhythm. They should be expressed with the strength and sensual intimacy of “persimmon and wild grape, sharp, sweet of summer’s end.”

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