After a long couple of weeks, I’m finally easing into Spring Break, a much-needed respite from mind-molding.  I thought that a little rendition of “Heavenly Sunlight” might be what the Great Physician ordered.

“Heavenly Sunlight” is a hymn I encountered only later in life.  The previous pastor of my current church recommended it one Sunday morning, and I instantly loved its jaunty 6/8 time signature and easy-to-play G major tonality.

It has many of the hallmarks of a good hymn, too, with that nice little A7 chord peaking in to point to D7, the fifth interval that takes the listener’s ear back to G.  Other hymns take the secondary dominants game further, but “Heavenly Sunlight” does it tastefully.

Henry J. Zelley wrote the hymn, which appears to be his most published according to Hymnary.org.  Zelley wrote “over 1500 poems, hymns, and gospel songs,” and did so with an evangelistic zeal that is inspiring.

Here’s hoping I did him justice!

Happy Listening!

—TPP

Other Editions of Open Mic Adventures:

• “Open Mic Adventures I: Oingo Boingo’s ‘Just Another Day’“
• “Open Mic Adventures II: Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’“
• “Open Mic Adventures III: Joanie Sommers’s ‘Johnny Get Angry’“
• “Open Mic Adventures IV: KISS’s ‘I Still Love You’“
• “Open Mic Adventures V: ‘There’s a Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)’“
• “Open Mic Adventures VI: Journey’s ‘Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’“
• “Open Mic Adventures VII: ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’“
• “Open Mic Adventures VIII: Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound of Silence’“
• “Open Mic Adventures IX: Journey’s ‘Faithfully’“
• “Open Mic Adventures X: ‘Time Warp’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XI: Spooktacular Supergroup Covers ‘Monster Mash’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XII: ‘Ghostly’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XIII: The Penguins’ ‘Earth Angel’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XIV: ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XV: ‘O Holy Night’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XVI: ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XVII: ‘L’il Divertimento in C major’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XVIII: ‘Satiean Motion’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XIX: ‘Two-Day Minuet for Left Hand’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XX: ‘Sleepy Student’s Serenade’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXI: Styx’s ‘Come Sail Away’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXII: ‘Blessed Assurance’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXIII: ‘Gabbi’s Gavotte’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXIV: ‘Softly and Tenderly’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXV: ‘Venite, exultemus Domino’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXVI: ‘Sonatina’“