Fall~Summer's back is broken~Soft Rain, part 1

I guess it is officially fall, at least on the calendar, and I do hope for an Indian summer. But Saturday it drizzled rain all day. A rare and happy occasion in the West Desert.

All day I sang a song in my head, which we are singing in our choir, the Choral Arts Society of Utah Master Chorale. It is called "Soft Rain" by Janet Cox and Douglas Cox, arranged by Douglas Cox and Jay Welch. Jay is LDS and used to direct the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He also started and lead the Mormon Youth Chorus for several years. I cannot find a recording of it anywhere on the internet. Sterling, my conductor said the Mormon Youth Chorus might have it on a recording, but I cannot find it anywhere.

But here are the words. (Keep in mind as you read the poem, that the choir and piano sound like a rain storm as they start softly, then keep getting more intense, and then finish pianissimo.)

added later: I belong to the Choral Arts Society of Utah. I recorded this and finally figured out how to put it on You Tube, then to embed it onto this blog.

Our choir director is also the local Weatherman for KUTV Channel 2 in Salt Lake. Before he starts, he turns to the audience and says, "It's going to rain"


(women) Rain falls
soft rain at my window
Every butterfly has hurried away
All the honeybees have called it a day
And the columbine are bending their heads
in the rain

Rain falls
soft rain making puddles
for the children's feet
the puddles are sweet
And the skater-bug fleet finds small pools a treat
And the columbine are bending their heads
in the rain.

(men)
While the rain is falling there's a quietness about the world;
While the thunder is calling there's a quiet hush about the world
A time to remember the beautiful things,
To look for tomorrow and your fondest dreams

(women)
While the rain is falling there's a quietness about the world;
While the thunder is calling there's a quiet hush about the world

(men and women)
A time to remember the beautiful things,
To look for tomorrow and your fondest dreams

(men continue singing)
While the rain is falling there's a quietness about the world;
While the thunder is calling there's a quiet hush about the world
(as women sing)
Rain falls, soft rain making puddles
For the children's feet,
The puddles are sweet
And the skater-bug fleet
Find small pools a treat
And the columbine are bending their heads
in the rain.
Rain falls
soft rain through the tree boughs
Bringing ev'ning birds a quick friendly bath
washing afternoon dust from my wide garden path
And the columbine are bending their heads
in the rain.

(men and women)
A time to remember the beautiful things,
To look for tomorrow and your fondest dreams.

(men)
While the rain is falling there's a quietness about the world;
While the thunder is calling there's a quiet hush about the world

(women)
Rain. . . falls. . .
soft rain at my window. . .
I will go outside where sleepy rain blows. . .
Feel the wet on my face. . .feel the wet on my clothes. . .
And like the columbine. . .
I want to bow my head
in the rain. . . . . .

to learn more about my choir, The Choral Arts Society of Utah, visit our web site
www.casu.org

Added later: I received a very sweet note from Jay Welch's daughter and she sent me a copy of this song, so now I can sing along whenever I want.

This Saturday rain cooled things off a bit, and after one of those days in the fall, it just doesn't get as hot anymore. The garden is finally producing prolifically, which is always wonderful, but hard to have a frost and have it just die after it just got started.
In the summer we use a whole house fan every night. This is a 3' square fan that is mounted somewhere in the middle of the house in the ceiling and vents into the attic. Every night we open all the windows a tiny bit (about 2-3 inches) and when we turn that fan on, it sucks the curtains in about a foot. All the cool night air is pulled in, circulated around the house and vented out the attic, which is cooled off by morning. It really keeps the house cool in the summer.

I mark my seasons by when I turn that fan on and off. I think I began turning it on about June. And this last week we tried it before bed, but turned it off in the middle of the night. I think it was about Wednesday. Thursday, I removed all the box fans from the rooms, and our bedroom windows. And today, sadly, I turned on the heat. I have it set at 64 degrees. Monday I covered the tomatoes with blankets.
::sigh::
it really is fall.

I am including a link to the other post I did on Soft Rain here.