Shaker Song: “Pretty Mother’s Home”
Singing “Pretty Mother’s Home,” a Shaker song, with my dear friend Miranda in the meeting house of the Pleasant Hill Shaker Village (founded ca 1805). Miranda has been a historic interpreter at the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill and has taught me many a Shaker song over the years. The harmony that you hear in this piece is one that she created!
This was a “gift song” given to Patsy Roberts Williamson, a Black Shaker woman of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. Patsy had a remarkable life. She was born into slavery in North Carolina. Her enslavers, a married man and woman, wanted to become Shakers, so they moved, and took Patsy with them to Pleasant Hill in 1812. About three years later, the couple decided they wanted to leave Pleasant Hill, and the Shakers offered to purchase Patsy, who was then 24 years old. After her purchase, the Shakers freed her, and from that point forward she lived her life at Pleasant Hill. The Shakers believed in equality across race, and one way that was practiced at Pleasant Hill was through racial integration. Patsy would have gardened, sewed, eaten and worshipped alongside other white Shakers- extraordinary circumstances during the early 19th century in Kentucky. Having said that, we don't know the full extent of her experiences, and she undoubtedly still navigated discrimination in her community.
Patsy died in 1860, and she left behind several songs that are still sung today. Often these songs were gift songs: inspired by the divine and sung spontaneously. "Pretty Mother's Home" is thought to be such a song. In "Pretty Mother's Home," Patsy sings about a longing for heaven- described as the "Mother's," "Father's" or "Savior's" home. In Shaker faith, referencing the Mother could be a reference to God in the feminine aspect, or to Mother Ann Lee, one of the original founders of the Shaker faith. The lyrics "Come love, pretty love, come love come," express the wish to be filled with the spirit of love. This song, out of context, can sound very erotic, and it has in fact spread through secular song circles, with lyrics occassionally altered, often being interpreted as a romantic piece. It's nice that Patsy's song continues to circulate and be enjoyed, and also very important to understand the original message of the song as well. On a similar note, the melody I'm singing here is one used by historic interpreters at Pleasant Hill, but I don't know how much it varies from Patsy's original version.
If you want to learn more Shaker songs from me, I offer in-person and online workshops on these meaningful and elegant songs. Reach out to me if you’d like to learn these songs!
Pretty Mother's Home
Oh, my pretty Mother's home
Sweeter than the honey in the comb (2X)
CHORUS
Come love, pretty love, come love, come
Come love, pretty love, I want some (2X)
Oh my pretty Father's home...
Oh my pretty Savior's home...
Oh my pretty Mother's home...
