The lyric from “Simple Gifts” begins, “‘Tis the gift to be simple.”
“Simple Gifts” is a Shaker song generally attributed to Elder Joseph Brackett, who composed it in 1848 at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine. The words connect simplicity with freedom, humility, and finding the proper place in life. Its references to bowing, bending, and turning reflect the Shakers’ worship dances rather than merely poetic imagery.
For decades, the song was mainly known within Shaker communities. It reached a much wider audience when Aaron Copland incorporated its melody into his 1944 ballet Appalachian Spring. Copland later arranged the music as one of his Old American Songs, helping establish the tune as a familiar part of American musical culture.
People sometimes sing “'Tis a gift to be simple,” but the traditional wording is “'Tis the gift to be simple.” The title is also occasionally confused with “The Gift to Be Simple,” the title of a 1940 book about Shaker music.