This little song contains a simple yet profound message – and one that is often very difficult to live by:
“Jesus said love everyone: Treat them kindly too.
When your heart is filled with love, Others will love you.”
If only we could all live by these words all the time! Wouldn’t the world be a happy place?
Since that doesn’t always happen, the next best thing is to teach this message to children while they are young, that it might be incorporated into their thinking and way of living. What better way to teach it than through the words and melody of a pretty little song like this?
Jesus taught: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22: 39).
Jesus also taught that we shouldn’t just love our neighbours and friends. We should love everyone, even those who are hard to love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5: 44).
Children can learn to be kind and learn that the love they send out to the world will come back to them somewhere somehow. And they will, at least, be happier.
History
Moiselle Renstrom (1889-1956) was a teacher who had the gift of becoming “as a little child” (Graham: We Shall Make Music, p. 85). She wrote several books of children’s music: Merrily We Sing, Musical Adventures, and Rhythm Fun. These books have been used widely by early childhood teachers for over sixty years. They are still available at Amazon and other book sources – even after all these years.
Sister Renstrom wrote thirteen of the songs included in the Children’s Songbook. Many of her songs, such as Once There Was a Snowman, Little Seeds Lie Fast Asleep, Two Little Eyes and Rain is Falling All Around encourage children to pretend and move with the music. Sister Pat Kelsey Graham, who was on the selection committee for the Children’s Songbook, states that [Sister Renstrom’s] works required no changes. “She knew the range for children’s voices, wrote so that it was easy to play, taught well with her rhymes, and was doctrinally accurate” (Ibid).
Congregation Choir Arrangements
Our Congregation Choir for Primary arrangement of this song includes an enhanced piano part and a countermelody that could be used for voice or any appropriate instrument, such as flute, violin, oboe, bells or the upper part of the piano. Some of your Primary children may be capable of adding this countermelody on the instrument they are learning.
Listen to it here with vocals performing the countermelody. PURCHASE it here.
This is a very short, simple song. For variety and a bit more of a challenge, you could lengthen the song as we have done in the sample by singing it the first time through with the original melody, the second time with the countermelody and the third time with both together.
Alternatively, you could have an instrument play with the children singing the second time through. To make things easier for the children, you could have an adult soloist (perhaps a teacher?) sing the countermelody.
As with all our Congregation Choir arrangements, the enhanced piano part is not enhanced so much that it is difficult for the average pianist to play. Hours of practice are not required!
