1000 Songs/Wonderful words of life (P. P. Bliss)
Wonderful words of life (P. P. Bliss)
== Text == Based on Philippians 2:15-16, lyrics found here, along with a recording of the tune, However, it is easier to hear how the lyrics fit in after you have heard it along with the words found here. === Author ===Written by Philip Paul Bliss, who also wrote the tune for the hymn It Is Well With My Soul. == Music ==Has a very lilting quality to it, with a great deal of "schmaltzy" harmonies. It also has a chorus, so it definitely fits into the gospel category. === Tune === Also written by Philip Bliss. === Arrangements ===I could only find the main arrangement it the way that Philip intended it. === Editor's Choice === If I were to use this song in a contemporary worship setting, I would probably regulate the rhythm a little bit more to soften the lilt of the march-like mood.
Background edit
=== Author biography ===He ran away from home at the age of 11, only attended school sporadically, then became a teacher. He travelled around playing music and was very successful, but after a brief period of joining the army, he did not regain the same level of popularity. He and his wife died together when a bridge broke under their train, and their carriage caught on fire (see Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster ). Philip survived, but went back to save his wife and neither of their bodies were recovered. They were survived by their two children, who were at the ages of 2 and 4 at the time of their deaths. === Author's circumstances === written in 1874, this was most likely written shortly before his death. At this time, he may have been working with an association started with Dwight L. Moody and others and traveling as a missionary singer.