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It May Be the Best for Me

Author: Charles A. Tindley Appears in 3 hymnals First Line: I often wonder why it is

[I often wonder why it is]

Appears in 3 hymnals Composer and/or Arranger: C. A. Tindley; F. A. Clark Tune Key: E Flat Major Incipit: 53321 565 Used With Text: It May Be the Best for Me

Instances

Published text-tune combinations (hymns) from specific hymnals

I often wonder why it is (It may be the best for me)

Author: Charles A. Tindley Hymnal: Beams of Heaven #10 (2006) First Line: I often wonder why it is Refrain First Line: It may be the best for me Languages: English Tune Title: [I often wonder why it is]

It May Be the Best for Me

Author: C.A. Tindley Hymnal: Soul Echoes #19 (1909) First Line: I often wonder why it is Lyrics: 1. I often wonder why it is, While some are happy and free, That I am tried and sore oppressed, But it may be the best for me. Chorus: It may be the best for me, It may be the best for me, The Lord knows the way And I will obey, It may be the best for me. 2. Some have the wealth to throw away, While I am compelled to be In want almost from day to day, But it may be the best for me. 3. I think of children with parents at home, What joy and comfort they see, While mine are gone and I am alone, But it may be the best for me. 4. Some walk in paths with flowers strewn, No burdens, no misery, While I must bear my cross alone, But it may be the best for me. Languages: English Tune Title: [I often wonder why it is]

It May be the Best for Me

Author: C. A. Tindley, D.D. Hymnal: New Songs of Praise #12 (1916) First Line: I often wonder why it is Languages: English Tune Title: [I often wonder why it is]

People

Authors, composers, editors, etc.

Charles Albert Tindley

1851 - 1933 Person Name: Charles A. Tindley Author of "I often wonder why it is (It may be the best for me)" in Beams of Heaven Charles Albert Tindley was born in Berlin, Maryland, July 7, 1851; son of Charles and Hester Tindley. His father was a slave, and his mother was free. Hester died when he was very young; he was taken in my his mother’s sister Caroline Miller Robbins in order to keep his freedom. It seems that he was expected to work to help the family. In his Book of Sermons (1932), he speaks of being “hired out” as a young boy, “wherever father could place me.” He married Daisy Henry when he was seventeen. Together they had eight children, some of whom would later assist him with the publication of his hymns. Tindley was largely self-taught throughout his lifetime. He learned to read mostly on his own. After he and Daisy moved to Philadelphia in 1875, he took correspondence courses toward becoming a Methodist minister. He did this while working as a sexton (building caretaker) for the East Bainbridge Street Church. Beginning in 1885, he was appointed by the local bishop to serve two or three-year terms at a series of churches, until coming full circle to become pastor at East Bainbridge in 1902. Under his leadership, the church grew rapidly. They relocated in 1904 to the East Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church, then again in 1924 to the new Tindley Temple, where the membership roll blossomed to about ten thousand. Tindley was known for being a captivating preacher, and for also taking an active role in the betterment of the people in his community. His songs were an outgrowth of his preaching ministry, often introduced during his sermons. Tindley was able to draw people of multiple races to his church ministry; likewise, his songs have been adopted and proliferated by white and black churches alike. The songs of Charles Tindley were published cumulatively in two editions of Soul Echoes (1905, 1909) and six editions of New Songs of Paradise (1916-1941). His wife Daisy died in 1924, before the completion of the Tindley Temple. He remarried in 1927 to Jenny Cotton. Charles A. Tindley died July 26, 1933.

F. A. Clark

1868 - 1948 Person Name: Francis A. Clark Arranger of "[I often wonder why it is]" in Beams of Heaven F. A. Clark (Francis A.) was a respected Black musician and composer from Philadelphia. Dianne Shapiro, from "Charles Albert Tindley: Progenitor of Black-American Gospel Music," by Horace Clarence Boyer, in The Black Perspective in Music Vol. 11, No. 2 (Autumn, 1983), pp. 103-132 (retrieved online from JSTOR, 8/27/2020)