I didn’t need to pull in I Often Go Walking. The melodies weave in and out of each other in perfect harmony. O My Father and I Often Go Walking are the same hymn. Something they had been looking for all their lives was right there the entire time. You know, the moment they found the map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Who doesn’t love treasure hunting and bad acting? Random side note: Have you ever seen National Treasure? It’s ridiculous. So I started looking at both of them trying to figure out where in “O My Father” would be a good place to pull in “I Often Go Walking.”Īnd then it happened. Plus, it’s about being reminded of your mother. So I started going through the hymnbook looking for motherly hymns while the Sacrament was being passed one Sunday (since starting this site, I’ve found it’s one of the best times to get inspiration for these hymns.) I then whipped out my phone and started going through the primary hymnbook on it while everyone around me probably thought I was on Facebook. But musically, it was going to be difficult without pulling in another hymn or reference to highlight Heavenly Mother. Since that was her reasoning for picking the hymn, I wanted to stick to that angle for the inspiration of the arrangement.
My wife asked me to arrange “O My Father” for her this month because it contains one of the few references to Heavenly Mother. Sometimes you find things when you’re not looking for them, and realize they’ve been there all along.