Sing to Me of Heaven -- Ada Powell

Ada Powell. Few other details are known of her, or even if this composer was a her, although this name is normally given to a female. Ada could have been a shortened version of Adelaide or Adeline, but there is more significant information than her name that one could gather about Ada from the words she composed for the song “Sing to Me of Heaven” early in the 20^th Century. What motivated her poetry can be surmised, at least speculatively, from the verses she recorded. And, since she doesn’t appear to have been a complete novice at verse composition, we could imagine that she engaged in similar activity over a reasonably lengthy period, either professionally or certainly in a semi-serious way. In other words, she was keenly involved in her walk of faith, and probably sought the companionship of others whom she hoped would reciprocate. What picture of heaven did she and others imagine – was it like this one, shown here?

Ada Powell authored at least a few dozen hymn poems over her lifetime, including this one about heaven that was first published while she was still a relatively young woman in 1914. As a 32-year-old poet, Ada most likely had been engaged in previous efforts, perhaps in a collaborative way as “Sing to Me of Heaven” proved to be. While she wrote the verses, her musical comrade, at least on this occasion, was Benjamin Beall. The music to another of her songs (“Do Something for Jesus”) was written by another composer (Benjamin Hultsman, Jr.), so evidently Ada was not entirely anonymous among her contemporaries. Her theme through the three verses of “Sing…Heaven” suggests Ada’s premise for writing was either personal or group-centered. ‘Sing to me…’ is a hint, not unexpectedly, that she was among other believers from whom she needed to draw strength or who were in need of her fellowship. In short, this group needed to be each other’s angel chorus, to simulate what each longed to experience in another realm. Did 30-something Ada feel life’s weights (v.1), suffer with loneliness (v.2) or depression (v.3)? Or, did she know others who knew these sensations too acutely to keep silent? Even a relatively young person could probably say ‘yes’ to either of those questions. The world was a complicated, busy, stressful, and challenging place in 1914 – at least for Ada and her friends.   

She might be mostly anonymous, but Ada Powell said something over 100 years ago that certainly sounds familiar. Heaven has a reputation. Some people with near-death experiences say it’s wondrous. Our bibles say something about it being a glorified earth. It’s the upside of death’s journey, the alternative to the horrible. Ada said it’s a place that’s sweet, bright, and gleaming like a pearl. She hadn’t been there either when she wrote these words, yet she was willing to take a chance on it, probably as she thought about earthly days in comparison that were none too pleasant. Are you like Ada? 

A list of the songs that the composer generated is here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/p/o/w/powell_a.htm