The video below is a performance of “Earth and All Stars,” including a verse 7 that does not appear in the Episcopal hymnal. The singer is William Storm.

St. Olaf seems very fond of the Brokering text. I am not. It is repetitious, lacking rhyme, and, in many respects, downright goofy. In 2010, I wrote a blog post titled “New Verses for a Bad Hymn,” in which I offered some verses that parodied Brokering’s. I’m not sure that I was very successful, since it’s hard to parody something that is so offbeat to begin with.

On June 2, 2013, we sang “Earth and All Stars” at my church in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and choir members grumbled about the hymn. Although no one defended the text, people did like the tune. This gave me the idea of writing a new text to be pared with the tune.

That same day, I composed the first draft that became the poem above. I retained the basic structure of “Earth and All Stars,” but I eliminated some of the repetition, added rhyme, and tried to stay away from the strange and the illogical. I posted this on my blog (here) and elicited comments. Two days later, benefiting from both positive and negative feedback, I posted a new version on my blog (here), along with an explanation of what changes I made and why. On June 5, I created this page on my Web site.

After I thought my text complete, I showed it to Bishop Dorsey McConnell who, like me, was not fond of the Brokering text. The bishop liked my hymn but had two serious criticisms. He very much disliked my third verse, which was

Flowers and trees, cacti and hedges,

Sing to the Lord a new song!

Acres of grain, scrub brush on ledges,

Sing to the Lord a new song!

I was not totally convinced that this was so bad. It was, in fact, an improvement over what I originally wrote. Nonetheless, I decided to see if I could do better. For the structure of the hymn, I needed a verse dealing with vegetation. My revision is what appears above. It is certainly less quirky than what it replaced.

Bishop McConnell also thought that I should have retained Brokering’s refrain,

He has done marvelous things.

I, too, will praise him with a new song!

rather than using my version, which was

He has done marvelous things.

I, too, will praise him singing along!

I considered various last lines ending in “throng,” “along,” “year long” and “life long.” I finally proposed this line:

I’ll sing their new song all my life long!

The bishop was unimpressed. I had to admit that the line from “Earth and All Stars” is not easily improved upon and that using it would not ruin my text. I therefore decided to retain the refrain unchanged from the original hymn.

In fact, Brokering’s refrain is based on Psalm 98:1, which, in the NIV, reads

Sing to the Lord a new song

    for he has done marvelous things;

Apparently, this verse was the inspiration for the entire hymn.

It was not until February 24, 2024, that I again thought about the refrain of my hymn. At a convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, I heard the Patricia B. Clark hymn “Come, Let Us Join in the Heavenly Dance.” The Clark text was set to the Johnson tune. Its refrain was

Come let us join in the heavenly dance,

Praising in joyous celebration.

I suddenly realized that I could rethink my own refrain from first principles rather than working from Brokering’s version. I generated a number of related possibilities and consulted with my friend and fellow poet Timothy Dean Piper to choose among them. Between us, we came up with a new refrain:

Praise to the Lord, who has made everything.

Let every voice its grateful praise sing!

The first line of this new refrain well summarizes the sentiment of the verses, and the second line actually rhymes with it. The refrain also eliminates the five-note malisma of “Earth and All Stars.” (My hymn retains the repeated malisma on the word “Lord” in the verses, however.) “Heavens and Earth, All of Creation” is still a kind of reimagining of “Earth and All Stars,” and it is certainly consistent with the sentiment of Psalm 98:1.

Although “Earth and All Stars” may be an attractive hymn in an academic setting—my church in Indiana, Pennsylvania, sings it at the beginning of each school year—I believe that “Heavens and Earth, All of Creation” makes for a better general hymn. If you would like to use it in your church, please write to me for permission. I would also appreciate your feedback on the hymn and on people’s reaction to it.

Below, you can view the sheet music for the hymn or listen to the tune.

		View Music (PDF)
	Listen to Music (one verse with refrain)

— LED, 6/5/2013, rev. 4/14/2024