{"id":1407,"date":"2011-01-11T01:55:54","date_gmt":"2011-01-11T01:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2011\/01\/the-music-of-true-grit-some-fascinating-history.html"},"modified":"2011-01-11T01:55:54","modified_gmt":"2011-01-11T01:55:54","slug":"the-music-of-true-grit-some-fascinating-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2011\/01\/the-music-of-true-grit-some-fascinating-history.html","title":{"rendered":"The Music of True Grit: Some Fascinating History"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently saw the new version of True Grit<\/i>. Once again, the Coen brothers have written and directed an engaging, thought-provoking, and cinematically stunning movie.<\/p>\n

\"true-grit-5.jpg\"<\/form>\n

But, for me, one of the most striking parts of True Grit<\/i> was not its look, but its sound, specifically, its soundtrack<\/a>. The composer, Carter Burwell, a frequent collaborator with the Coens, has written a soundtrack that’s based almost completely on hymn tunes, especially “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” <\/p>\n

We might wonder why the Coens, who are Jewish, would choose such music for their film, and how they even knew it. Ironcially, according to Ethan Coen<\/a>, they knew “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” from another movie, The Night of the Hunter<\/i>, where it is sung by an insane murderer. The Coens wanted to use music that reflected point of view of True Grit<\/i>‘s protagonist, 14-year-old Mattie Ross. According to Coen, she is “an old Protestant at the age of 14.” So they picked a hymn that would have been sung by Protestants in the late 1800s, the era in which True Grit<\/i> takes place.<\/p>\n

In fact, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” was written by a couple of late nineteenth-century Protestants. The two men who wrote the lyrics and music for this hymn were, in fact, Presbyterians. Anthony J. Showalter was an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Dalton, Georgia. Elisha A. Hoffman later became the pastor of Benton Harbor Presbyterian Church. In his spare time, he wrote thousands of hymns, including “I Must Tell Jesus” and “What a Wonderful Savior,” as well as “Leaning on the Everlasting.”<\/p>\n

How these two friends came to work together on this hymn is a fascinating and touching story<\/a>. Showalter was a church music teacher who taught many throughout the South to sing gospel songs. One day in 1887, he received letters from two of his students, both young men who had recently lost their wives. Showalter sought to console them with a verse from Scripture, and turned to Deuteronomy 33:27, which reads in the King James Version: ” The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you.” As he read this verse, Showalter imagined the refrain of a hymn, “Leaning, leaning, save and secure from all alarms; Leaning, Leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.”<\/p>\n

After writing to the grieving widowers, Showalter also wrote to his friend and fellow hymn-writer, Elisha Hoffman, asking him if he could write verses for the refrain. It seems that Showalter was stuck with nothing but a chorus. In time, Hoffman wrote back with three stanzas, which Showalter put to music. The result was the now-famous hymn, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”<\/p>\n

Tomorrow, I’ll examine the lyrics of this hymn and offer a few observations on their significance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently saw the new version of True Grit. Once again, the Coen brothers have written and directed an engaging, thought-provoking, and cinematically stunning movie. But, for me, one of the most striking parts of True Grit was not its look, but its sound, specifically, its soundtrack. The composer, Carter Burwell, a frequent collaborator with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[203],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hymns-and-songs"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Music of True Grit: Some Fascinating History - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2011\/01\/the-music-of-true-grit-some-fascinating-history.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Music of True Grit: Some Fascinating History - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I recently saw the new version of True Grit. Once again, the Coen brothers have written and directed an engaging, thought-provoking, and cinematically stunning movie. But, for me, one of the most striking parts of True Grit was not its look, but its sound, specifically, its soundtrack. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1407\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}