Worship Arts Notes

In 1925, 19 year-old Albert E. Brumley left his home with nothing but $1.25 in his   pocket. Driven by a dream, he walked 26 miles from Spiro, Ok to Hartford, AR, and knocked on E.M. Bartlett’s door. “Mr. Bartlett, I hear you can teach a fella ‘bout music’”, the young Albert said.  Even though they’d never met, Bartlett took Brumley in, letting him sleep on his couch with the understanding that Albert would go to work for the Hartford Music Company after graduating from the Hartford Music Institute.

Albert did graduate and went on to write songs for the Hartford Music Company until 1944, when he formed Albert E. Brumley & Sons, Inc. In fact, it was while working for Hartford that he wrote his most famous song, “I’ll Fly Away” in 1932.

In the simpler world of the 1920’s, when a man’s word was as good as a signed contract, E. M. Bartlett took a kid off the street, a kid he’d never met, and brought him into his own home – all because Brumley had a love of gospel music and a passion to learn.  And, because of this trust and generosity, because of Bartlett’s eye for young talent, he invested in Brumley’s music education, and the world received a treasure as a result. “I’ll Fly Away” has become one of the most recorded gospel songs in history. Imagine what the world would have missed – what we all would have missed – if “I’ll Fly Away” had never been written.

Brumley said the idea for the song came to him as he was picking cotton on his father’s farm. The lyrics were inspired by “The Prisoner’s Song,” which had been popular in the 1920s. Brumley found himself thinking about the idea of flying to freedom like a bird, and the       comparison of breaking free from prison to reaching one’s heavenly reward.

He had no idea how popular the song would become. Brumley himself was a prolific   composer, writing more than 600 songs in his lifetime. But “I’ll Fly Away” was the one that   became legendary. It’s been recorded so many times that no one is really sure how many     exist; it’s estimated to be at least 5,000.  

Rev. Steve Badskey