Wings of a Dove

When I was in university they decided to renovate the library, and that came with a cleaning. Many old items were sold or stored to save space while the building was under construction. A friend picked up some research materials from the early twentieth century on spirituals because he thought I was into musicology. (It turns out I was, but I didn’t know that at the time.)

I read through a collection of songs that was filled with tunes we all know and have likely sung, like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” or “Deep River.” At the back of the book, in something like an appendix, were songs that — well — weren’t very good. They may have been included for the sake of completeness, but frankly they just weren’t at the level of polish that the more familiar songs were. These were more like rough-hewn work songs, most of which were secular. There was one, however, that caught my eye: it had a nice tune and a good message, though poorly communicated. I had never heard it before and thought it would be a shame if it disappeared into the mists of history.

Jumping forward a few years, my wife and I
were moving boxes of papers in the basement and I ran across this book once again. My memory stirred, I found the song and began arranging it for congregational singing in hopes of keeping it alive. I edited the text that existed, the first two stanzas, then added my own to round out the idea of flying away to rest. I arranged the parts, but the melody is unchanged from the original.

🔊 You can hear it here.
💾 You can download the MP3 here.
🎼 You can download the sheet music here.

If I had the wings of a dove, o
If I had the wings of a dove, o
If I had the wings of a dove
I’d fly away and be at rest.

Mary had a holy Son.
(I’d fly away and be at rest.)
On the cross they had Him hung.
(I’d fly away and be at rest.)

If I had the wings of a dove, o
If I had the wings of a dove, o
If I had the wings of a dove
I’d fly away and be at rest.

Judah’s daughters wept and moaned
(I’d fly away and be at rest.)
When their dying savior groaned.
(I’d fly away and be at rest.)

If I had the wings of a dove, o
If I had the wings of a dove, o
If I had the wings of a dove
I’d fly away and be at rest.

Children, let your voices sing
(I’d fly away and be at rest.)
Praise to God, the risen King!
(I’d fly away and be at rest.)

If I had the wings of a dove, o
If I had the wings of a dove, o
If I had the wings of a dove
I’d fly away and be at rest.

Soon I’ll tell this world good-bye.
(I’ll fly away and be at rest.)
Wings I’ll spread and home I’ll fly!
(I’ll fly away and be at rest.)

If I had the wings of a dove, o
If I had the wings of a dove, o
If I had the wings of a dove
I’d fly away and be at rest.

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Arr. Copyright © 2004 by Robert Ritter