Linda Brooks Davis

Precious Memories

church-552559_1280Some memories are just plain memories.

Others are precious. Precious memories.

Ever hear of shape-note singing? It’s alive and well in The Calling of Ella McFarland’s fictional Christ Church in the community of Needham, Oklahoma, as it was in the church where I grew up in Raymondville, Texas. 

Shape notes are based on an ancient method of music education, solfège in French and solfeggio in Italian, in which each note of the tonal scale is represented by an assigned syllable–do-re-me-fa-sol-la-ti. But shaped-note music takes the method a step further by assigning a specific shape to each note/musical syllable: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_note#/media/File:CMajorScaleInAikenShapeSystem.gif (Public Domain)

This method enables a singer to mentally hear the pitches of a piece of music and sing them aloud without benefit of instruments, as we did in my home.

“Let’s sing,” my mother would say when she’d manage to gather her four children in one room.

Brooks_GeorgeHarmon
George Harmon Brooks, circa 1910, a song leader extraordinaire.

We’d groan but cooperate and then enjoy ourselves far more than if we’d watched a ho-hum TV show or even played cards. I couldn’t name a single TV program that might have aired any of those days in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. But I do recall with extreme clarity what I saw and heard and how I felt–warm, secure, and included–when we sat in a circle with hymnals in hand, picking out songs. Pages would flutter and soon we’d be calling out our favorites: perhaps #343, “Ivory Palaces” … or #542, “Purer in Heart, O God” … or maybe #807, “Precious Memories”. 

Brooks_GH_1932_original-music-score
Excerpt from an original musical score written in shaped notes by my grandfather, G.H. Brooks
1946_WilsonFBrooks
My father, Wilson F. Brooks. I can still hear him singing.

We sang a cappella, with our voices alone, as did my grand- and great-grandparents and others before them. My grandfather, George H. Brooks, taught the method a hundred years ago. My father, Wilson F. Brooks, led singing from the 1930s onward using the same method. He saw to it that his sons–Jerry, Dalton (Butch to us), and Dale–learned to lead singing the same way. From 1952 to 1975, Daddy sent each of his boys to five summers each of “singing school” in Sabinal, Texas to refine their skills. He was a farmer, summer was cotton season, and he needed their help, but singing school came first. 

When we gathered in our pine-paneled den, Daddy, Butch, or Jerry would run up and down the scale–do-re-me-fa-sol-la-ti –to find the right pitch. Butch would start us off. Mother would join in 1956_WilsonFBrooks_and-children-Dalton-Linda-Jerrywith her soprano; I, alto; Jerry, tenor; and Daddy, bass. Soon little Dale had learned the songs, and before long he was singing bass himself. Precious memories, indeed.

1964_Dale-and-LindaBrooks
Little brother Dale. We started singing together when Dale was in 1st grade.

Daddy went to his heavenly reward in 1971, but Mother kept the family’s singing tradition alive. As she was declining in 1994, we four siblings figured the best way to honor her was to sing at her funeral. But could we manage to do so? Probably not in a way anyone would want to listen to. So we recorded a few songs.

The recording below is a clip from our tribute to Mother for her funeral in 1995. (“Precious Memories,” J.B.F. Wright, 1925) It’s a tribute to Daddy, as well. And to Grandaddy Brooks and his father, J.W. Brooks, who established the family tradition when he settled in Silverton on the High Plains of Texas in 1900.  J.W.’s family had originated in the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky and Appalachian Mountains where shaped-note singing was born in America.

(“Precious Memories”: http://www.pdhymns.com/pdh_main_P.htm)

1994_Brooks_Goldie-and-Linda
Mother, Goldie Banks Brooks, would have smiled like this to hear us singing at her funeral. I like to think she listened in from Heaven.

When Johnny Cash in 1969 sang, “Daddy sang bass, Mama sang tenor / Me and little brother would join right in there …” we Brookses knew what he was talking about. Each of us had a part, and our job was to harmonize. We all joined in, whether inside the house or at an ice cream or watermelon social outside, and our ancestors did the same, sometimes on creek and river banks without a piano or other instruments, an almost lost art now.

Certain a cappella groups have risen in popularity in recent years, making what’s old, new. Their harmony is pristine, prompting comments like “That’s amazing.” But way back when The Calling of Ella McFarland’s fictional Christ Church opened their songbooks and Cade McFarland led them in “The Cross Is Not Greater”, they sang as my family did, using shape-note music. 

 

 

 

 

7 thoughts on “Precious Memories

  1. Linda, I so enjoyed reading your post about the Brooks family heritage and listening to the clip. I wanted to hear more and could hear my friend, your brother, Jerry’s familiar tenor voice.
    I really see the Brooks Family resemblance viewing all the photos. You bless your family by your gift of writing (as well as singing).

  2. Aunt Linda,
    I so appreciate the recording of the song. It brought me to tears. Sophie said she called Pawpaw after hearing it and they both cried. “Precious Memories”…. Truly.
    Love ,
    Val

    1. I cried as I wrote the posting, Val, so I understand! Thank you for letting me know your reaction. You and Greg can remember those singing circles. Not many your age can. It’s a heritage that should not be forgotten. You have encouraged me. Thank you, love … Aunt Linda

  3. Linda, love what you have shared and eagerly await the book’s release. If I can’t get it on my Kindle or iPad, will it be in one of the major book retailers?
    We have a grand family legacy and reputation – where three or more of G.H. Brooks’ clan is gathered together, there will be singing of praises to the God of Angel Armies. Love it!!

    1. Sammy, we share a unique heritage, don’t we? Such a treasure.You’ll find THE CALLING OF ELLA MCFARLAND online on Amazon, Kindle, etc. Dec. 1. I’ll also have a link here on this site as soon as the book is available. You can also order it through bookstores. Your comment has encouraged me so much. Thank you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *