Arranged by Peter Irvine
Words by Dick Dunagan
A note on the arrangement
My friend Dick Dunagan, a member of the River’s Edge Dulcimer Players in Janesville, Wisconsin, died last summer. In his last days, he shared with me a poem he had written to the tune “Beach Spring,” which was first published in the “Sacred Harp” in 1844. I recently completed an arrangement of the tune with his original text, which I would like to submit for publication in DPN.
Dick and his wife Val were frequent participants in Sacred Harp singings in Wisconsin and elsewhere. They both played mountain dulcimer and frequently performed at Beckman Mill, near the city of Beloit, where they lived.
The tune “Beach Spring” has been used by quite a few hymn writers, each of whom has attached it to their own words.
– Peter Irvine
Peter Irvine published “Promised Land: Early American Hymns from the Shape-Note Tradition” in 2022. Search for “Promised Land” at melbay.com.
