Name: The People of Haiti Sang Hymns
Duration: 3 min 27 s
Channel: John R. Whitney
Description: "The People of Haiti Sang Hymns" is a meditation on the immediate aftermath of the January 12, 2010 earthquake that decimated Haiti causing the death of 200,000 to 300,000 people.

The People of Haiti Sang Hymns

John Robert Whitney

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"The People of Haiti Sang Hymns" is a meditation on the immediate aftermath of the January 12, 2010 earthquake that decimated Haiti causing the death of 200,000 to 300,000 people.

folk singersongwriter multi instrumentalist songwriting band in a box

John Robert Whitney

John Robert Whitney is a singer/songwriter and professional conservationist from Western New York State (East Aurora/Buffalo).

Singer/Songwriter; multi-instrumentalist; folk, country, pop, blues, jazz, Gospel; professional conservationist

Song Info

Genre

Acoustic • Acoustic Folk

Charts

Peak #26

Peak in subgenre #7

Author

John R. Whitney

Rights

John R. Whitney

Uploaded

January 24, 2010

Track Files

MP3

MP3 3.2 MB • 128 kbps • 3:27

Story behind the song

Shortly after the 7.1 earthquake struck southern Haiti on January 12, 2010, early on the ground reports mentioned how survivors were coping with the unimaginable catastrophe by singing hymns as they search for survivors and struggled to understand the devastation. This song was written with those images in my mind.

Lyrics

Em7           
Digging through the rubble,
  C
Isn't it odd
               C7
Hearing hymns of praise
                     Em7
To a loving God?

                                         C7
Refrain		When the walls crumbled,
                                       Em7
                        And the buildings tumbled,
                                C7           D              Em7
                        The people of Haiti sang hymns.
                              C7
                        In deep despair,
                                                 Em7
                        Pain and death everywhere,
                  C7           D              Em7
                        The people of Haiti sang hymns.

Nothing to drink
No food to eat
Still they're singing hymns
And sleeping in the street	        Refrain

To ease the pain
Trying to cope
They're singing hymns
And holding out hope		Refrain

Such abiding faith
In spite of the pain
Singing hymns to mask
The evil and profane.		Refrain

Kneeling in the rubble
Isn't it odd
Singing hymns of praise
To a loving God?		Refrain

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