麥爾斯（C.Austin Miles,1868-1946）在十六歲時原想接受教牧的訓練，但是為環境所逼，不得已攻讀藥劑師，畢業後在藥房工作。 業餘他勤讀聖經，並在教會領唱。 他也愛好攝影，自設暗房沖洗底片。在1892年他寫了第一首聖詩，帶去奮興會試唱，獲得眾人贊賞。 他意識到這是 神要他以詩歌來為主作見證，於是他努力編寫聖詩。 1898年他受聘於一家宗教音樂的出版公司為全職編輯，編寫並推廣福音聖詩事工。
1912年春麥爾斯的僱主，促他作一首聖詩，指定曲調的旋律要優美柔和，能引人入勝。 詞句要振奮人心，使沮喪者有盼望，疲勞者得安寧。 有一天，他坐在沖洗底片的暗房中沉思，想到黑白底片，並非真實的畫面，在那黑影的叢葉中，隱藏著美麗的花朵，頓悟許多時我們不能單自表面看到事實的真相，正如底片需要花時間去沖洗，才成真實的照片。人生又何嘗不如此呢？ 這時，聖經正好打開在他所喜愛的約翰福音廿章，他讀到馬利亞，約翰和彼得先後前往墓園，發現耶穌已復活的故事，霎時間他彷彿身歷其境，看到耶穌和馬利亞的對談，一時靈感觸發，寫下了這首詩，當晚就譜上了曲調。
「在花園中」付印後，為帳幕佈道會選用，許多人聽了，被感動淚下。 收音機也不斷播放，在當時被譽為僅次於「古舊十架」的流行聖詩。 他著名的聖詩尚有「更加甘甜」（Still Sweeter Everyday），「主耶穌若同行」（If Jesus Goes with Me），「住在佳美聖城」（Dwelling in Beulah Land）等 。
“In the Garden” is a gospel song written by C. Austin Miles (1868 – 1946), a former pharmacist who served as editor and manager at Hall-Mack publishers for 37 years. According to Miles’ great-granddaughter, the song was written “in a cold, dreary and leaky basement in New Jersey that didn’t even have a window in it let alone a view of a garden.” The song was first published in 1912 and popularized during the Billy Sunday evangelistic campaigns of the early twentieth century by two members of his staff, Homer Rodeheaver and Virginia Asher.
Although this fact has been largely forgotten, Miles intended it as an Easter song; the speaker of the poem is Mary Magdalene.
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans recorded the song with vocal quartet and orchestra on March 3, 1950. A June 18, 1958 recording by Perry Como was part of his album When You Come to the End of the Day. The gospel song is sung in the closing scene of the film Places in the Heart and by Ronee Blakley in the Robert Altman film Nashville. It is also used in juxtaposition to “Blue Tail Fly” near the beginning of the Merchant/Ivory film of Carson McCullers’ The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. The book of poetry Tea by D. A. Powell also refers to the song. Elvis Presley also sang the song in his gospel albums.
Words from “In the Garden” are inscribed on a bench at the grave of Earl Kemp Long in Winnfield, Louisiana. It was Long’s favorite hymn.
By Elvis Presley
Lyrics
| I come to the garden alone,While the dew is still on the roses,And the voice i hear falling on my ear,The son of god discloses . . .
And he walks with me, and he talks with me,And he tells me i am his own,And the joy we share as we tarry tere, None other, has ever, known! He speaks and the sound of his voice, Is so sweet the birds hush their singing, And the melody that he gave to me,Within my heart is ringing . . .And he walks with me, and he talks with me, And he tells me i am his own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other, has ever, known! And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other, has ever, known! |
我獨自來到花園裡，玫瑰花尚有晶瑩露珠，
忽然我耳中聽見溫柔聲，原來是我主耶穌。 祂甘甜優美的聲音，使善唱的雀鳥也鎮靜， 祂所賜給我那美好佳音，使我心快快甦醒。 雖黑暗已籠罩滿天，我仍捨不得離祂慈面， 當祂請我走，誠懇底微聲，在我心不住響應。 副 歌 祂和我同在又和我談心，並對我說我屬於祂， 我們同在時情景真甘美，沒有別人能領會。 |