New Music: My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me
Sometime around the first of the year, a nice person requested an arrangement of an old standard–“My Father Watches Over Me,” with words by William C. Martin and music by Charles Gabriel.
It intrigued me, because 1) I hadn’t heard it before; and 2) Charles Gabriel wrote the music for “I Stand All Amazed,” which I love.
Well, the original (which you can listen to here or here) was a bit dated for my liking. (Yeah, those videos are dated too, but you get the idea.) So I failed utterly in answering the request by writing my own melody.
Because the words caught me, simple as they are, (the title does sound a bit like a children’s song, doesn’t it?) I uncharacteristically set aside what I was working on and did this one instead.
I was really enjoying myself as the melody took shape, and I thought, “I’ve got this.”
Then, in February, my dad died. It seemed apparent then why the words had taken such hold of me. I was grateful that Heavenly Father had nudged me to have it ready to share with my mother.
I thought I understood the Lord’s purpose. I really did. It was another “I’ve-got-this” moment.
And then this pandemic thing came along, and blew us all out of the water.
If you’re like me, you really want to be able to look at a given situation and think, “I’ve got this.” We want to be in control of things. We want to be the captain of our own ship, the ruler of our own destiny.
So often it doesn’t work that way. And that’s a good thing because the Captain of our ship is smarter than the rest of us.
Russell M. Nelson, who is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, posted a recent message saying, in part,
“…our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ know us, love us, and are watching over us. Of that we can be certain.”
At this particular time, in every corner of our world, we need to know that we have a Heavenly Father who watches over us all. That’s the message of this simple text.
Here’s a recording with vocals by James Loynes:
I hope you’re all safe.
I hope you’re all well.
It’s likely that some of you aren’t.
I hope more than anything that you believe in an all-powerful Heavenly Father who really does love you. He knows your needs. He watches over you. And he does what’s best for you.
He’s got this, even when we don’t.
Links to material in this post
“My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me” – for Low-, Medium-, and High-voice solo
One final note: Moving a song up or down gracefully isn’t as easy as it sounds. It just doesn’t always work well. This one worked in these keys. I really couldn’t move it further either way without some serious re-writing. So “high” and “low” are relative. 🙂
Have fun singing at your own, socially-distanced-sheltering-at-home piano. Or sing along with the track. Better yet, YouTube it and post a link below so I can hear you too. 🙂
Handy info…
Since you asked: How to Find Translations on This SiteFinding translations here is super easy. This is what you do: […]
Resizing Scores Using the Personal Composer DemoStep by step instructions on resizing scores or text using the Personal Composer demo. […]- Transposing Using Personal ComposerHow to transpose .pc scores using the Personal Composer Demo. Step by step instructions. […]
Dearest Sally,
My condolences on the passing of your father. This new song brought tears to my eyes as I listened and thought about the circumstances involved in bringing it to fruition. Bless you and your family and prayers for your continued safety and well-being. Know that I’ll be sharing this beautiful song with my friends and congregation as it is safe to do so!
Sally, you’ll never know how much you’ve helped and inspired countless souls with your beautiful music! Keep on! Thank you so, so much!
I rousted my husband out of bed to play this for me; it is lovely and will be used in our home and at church when we get back there. Thanks for all you do! God bless as you grieve the loss of your Dad.
Thank you, Sally, for sharing your inspirational music. Our church choir director often chooses a Sally DeFord inspirational music piece for us to sing and share with our congregation. Your love for God, our Father and Jesus His son, shines right through your music! The “My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me” music is so comforting and encouraging to let us know with God all things are possible; He always gives us strength to get us through good times and bad. He reassures us that he is always watching over us!!
You are all so kind, and so good to me! Thank you so much. I love hearing your experiences, and how you’re sharing the love of Christ during such a trying time. Keep the faith! We’ll get through this through Him. <3 <3 <3
Beautiful Sally and so timely for sharing.
Sally, this is one of the most beautiful songs, especially at this time in our lives. It gives comfort, peace, and solace in this crazy world of ours. We are so blessed to have you in our lives to bring us such beautiful music. Thank you so much for always loving music and sharing it with all of us.
Really gorgeous! I love it! I am “the” accompanist for my ward, so I always enjoy your
beautiful paino parts!
Our church is currently having Virtual services on video. I will be singing this soon. I have asked my church for requests and they have responded, BUT they NEED to hear this. Sally, thank you for being sensitive to the Spirit and sharing exactly what the rest of us need to share with our people. You are a gift to my music ministry here at Pioneer United Church of Christ.
Blessings!
Sally … you always hit the mark!!! I, my family, and my ward family have been sooooo blessed by your genius and your generosity for so many years now! I almost can’t remember what it was like to conduct a church choir without you !8-) Once again, your beautiful arrangement is gorgeous — and TIMELY!! Thank you for sharing the story of its origin … and I’m so sorry to hear about your dad … and grateful you had just the right piece of music at the right time. The evolution of life is not only uncertain, it’s often painful. Somehow your arrangements soften the blow of much of that pain. The Spirit always attends and speaks to the souls who hear it! Bless you and your family!
Beautiful. I love it! Very different from the other two versions, even though they are very fun. The sweet comforting message of the words are lost with the music. Thank you for sharing your talent; it blesses my life and countless others.
This is a fantastic arrangement. Full of tender words. Peaceful and lyrical in melody and piano accompaniment. The key change is delightful. Thank you for sharing your talents freely with all of us! Sondra
Wow, as I listened to this and a couple of other music you have, my heart was touched. During this time for all of us knowing that our Savior loves us and we can depend on him is a blessing and brings a peaceful joy to our hears. Thanks you and the Lord for sharing your talent with us.
Thank you Sally, it is times like this that we all especially feel the Saviors love, protection and guidance. We are not alone. Many hugs (I call them air hugs these days) to you and your family.
Sally, you always do such a wonderful job and this no exception. Thank you so much for sharing your great talents with us!
Thank you. Just beautiful!
Beautiful and so timely. I see it on youtube with just one still photo. Have you done another video that’s a slide show or other visuals. I’d love to share it.
Sally, This is just wonderful! Its message is timely, earnest and the melody is beautiful, but simple enough that a lot of practice isn’t required. Perfect for the first sacrament meeting we will eventually have again!
Thank you for the reminder!
How absolutely sacred to my heart. Thank you.
Beautiful, Sally! Thank you.
Oh, this came in the right moment, I was starting to feel anguish and sorrow or anxiety about the future, I think we all are. But this came in the right time to make me remember that Heavenly Father is in control. It’s funny because I was talking to my mom and some friends about this, even today, that Satan wants to take advantage on this situation, on the desperation of the people and will want to make us forget that Our Heavenly Father is really there with every single thing under His own control. Thank you so much, sister Sally. I always love to read your entries and listen to your inspired music.
A big hug from Chile 😊
Thanks so much! I think we need to all remember this especially at this time.