One of The Hunger Games soundtracks features the song, “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder” by The Secret Sisters. I was struck by the delicate harmonies and by the fact that it was hymn-like but not an old song.
For years I thought about exploring more of The Secret Sisters’ music but didn’t do anything about it until (during the credits of The Chosen, season 5) I heard haunting harmonies floating out over simple strumming like fog over a hill. This was another Secret Sisters gem, “Flee As a Bird.”
“Flee As a Bird” is a hymn by Mary Dana Shindler penned in the 1800s. Using biblical imagery, “Flee As a Bird” paints a picture of a soul escaping the heaviness of sin by flying to Jesus just as a bird might fly to a mountain retreat. The Secret Sisters’ rendition makes me think of a restored car: repairs and a new coat of paint but all original parts and structure, something truly old made truly new.
Below is the first verse and chorus, but to get the full effect, take a couple minutes to listen here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OtHpoRifE4M&ra=m
Flee as a bird to your mountain
Thou who art weary of sin
Go to the clear flowing fountain
Where you may wash and be clean
Fly, for the adventure is near thee
Call and the Savior will hear thee
He on His bosom will bear thee
Thou who art weary of sin
Oh, thou who art weary of sin
A Wandering Minstrel 