“The Blessing” Around the World, Part 2

Six weeks ago I shared with you how the song “The Blessing” has become an international phenomenon. Just a few months after its release, virtual choirs around the world were recording the song as a way to bless their countries during our worldwide pandemic. As the pandemic has continued, so has the creation of new videos.

Since my post six weeks ago, I have often searched YouTube and discovered even more renditions of the song. Virtual choirs, solo artists, worship teams, family groups, duos, and other musical combos have done a video of the song. There have even been dance and sign language versions. It’s been amazing to see the ongoing creativity.

My interest in sharing these with you on a travel blog is because many of the international versions are also teaching us something about their country and culture. Since one of the goals of this blog is to learn about our world, sharing these videos feels appropriate. At a time when travel is limited, we can still engage with our world through video. Since music is the “universal language,” this may be the best way for that engagement during this time.

Not all of the videos created have revealed aspects of their culture. Many versions simply sing the song. However, others have added video clips of their country, used unique musical instruments, or composed a different vocal arrangements. These individual touches make them fun to watch.

As new videos have continued to be released, even more countries and places have been represented. The ones I am highlighting here all have a unique feature that I think makes them stand out. Listening to all of them will take time, but as I said in my previous post, feel free to come back and listen to them at another time, but do listen to at least one or two of them.

The first one I recommend may surprise you as it’s actually from New York. We know that a few months ago New York was the epicenter for COVID here in the United States. This virtual choir gives acknowledgement to that and offers hope beyond that traumatic time. It also gives a nod the the multicultural aspect of New York with a few people singing in their native languages during one of the verses. I found it a moving performance.

The next rendition follows in a somewhat similar vein. It comes from the city of Tacloban in the Philippines. (I had to look it up on a map) A major hurricane destroyed much of the city in 2013, and now it is struggling with COVID. As well as having quality music, there are a lot of video scenes from the city which makes it worth watching. I found it very inspirational.

This next version is just fun. While it is done in a virtual choir style, it is done by one organization, Destiny Africa, which works with children in Uganda. The video shows aspects of Ugandan life, but they have also really changed the style of the song giving it an African flavor. If you don’t have time to listen to any others, listen to this one. (It’s shorter than most) You will walk away with a smile. By the way, the whooping you will hear by a woman near the end was something I also heard in Malawi.

A number of groups from India have created a version of “The Blessing.” Many of these are done in one of the many different languages which India has. The following video uses 31 different languages all together. It’s a good thing “Amen” is the same in each of them. Each of these languages is represented by people wearing traditional clothing from their region and standing outside so we can see the beauty of their country. There are also native musical instruments including a sitar. It’s a very colorful video.

South of India is the country of Sri Lanka. The churches from there put together a video with some stunning video clips of their country. Also most of the singers are standing outside so we can again see something of the vegetation of the country. It’s a beautiful video to watch.

I was only going to put up five videos, but it was really hard to choose just five so I am putting in an extra one here. This one is from the African country of Namibia. It contains a lot of great video clips of the country, an apparently barren land, and its culture. It also brings a different musical interpretation at the end with a bit of rap. It’s a good, upbeat video.

These are my six suggestions for today, but that is by no means all the good videos out there. Here are links to a few more just in case you have some extra time on your hands. If you want to work on your Spanish, I would recommend this video from Argentina which puts up the Spanish words clearly. Have you ever wondered about the countries of Uzbekistan, Nepal or Sierra Leone? Get a look at those countries through their videos. If you like bagpipes, check out the Celtic version of the song?

Well, that should give you enough inspiration for this week. In the comment box let me know what version you like or if you have discovered another version that has touched your spirit. Also don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already. Most of all be sure to share “The Blessing.”