"Simple Gifts" is a Shaker hymn and dance song whose lyrics and music were written by Elder Joseph Brackett (1797-1882). The composer Aaron Copland used the melody in his score for the Martha Graham ballet "Appalachian Spring" which resulted in the hymn becoming better known. The music was later adapted by the songwriter Sydney Carter to become the hymn "Lord of the Dance". In this form the hymn has become even more popular, and it inspired the Michael Flatley musical show called "Lord of the Dance" and is used several times in the show.
Piano sheet music, midi and mp3 files for this hymn can be downloaded using the links in the left-hand menu, or check below.
Here is a video of Simple Gifts (Lord of the Dance):
The audio controls below allow you to play the mp3 version of Simple Gifts (Lord of the Dance) or you can download the MP3 file. You can also download the midi version of Simple Gifts (Lord of the Dance).
The image below is the first page of the sheet music, and here you can download the full sheet music for Simple Gifts (Lord of the Dance) in PDF format.
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