Footprints (poem)

Footprints (poem)
For the Leona Lewis song, see Footprints in the Sand (song).
A picture of the banks of the Colorado River. One side of the Grand Canyon is visible on the right, while some footprints are visible in the sand.

"Footprints," also known as "Footprints in the Sand," is a popular allegorical text written in prose.

Contents

Content

This popular text describes a dream, in which the person is walking on a beach with God. They leave two sets of footprints in the sand behind them. Looking back, the tracks are stated to represent various stages of this person's life. At some points the two trails dwindle to one, especially at the lowest and most hopeless moments of the character's life. When questioning God, believing that God must have abandoned his follower during those times, God gives the explanation: "During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Authorship and origins

The original authorship of the poem is disputed, with dozens of people claiming to have penned it. Rachel Aviv in a Poetry Foundation article[1] discusses the various claims and suggests that the source of this poem is the opening paragraph of Charles Haddon Spurgeon's 1880 sermon "The Education of the Sons of God."[2]

June Hadden Hobbs suggested that its origins lie in Mary B. C. Slade's 1871 hymn "Footsteps of Jesus" as "almost surely the source of the notion that Jesus' footprints have narrative significance that influences the way believers conduct their life stories ... it allows Jesus and a believer to inhabit the same space at the same time. [...] Jesus travels the path of the believer, instead of the other way round".[3]

Margaret Fishback (Antolini), whose light verse appeared regularly in popular American magazines from the 1930s to the 1960s, had no connection to "Footprints," although her name confusingly resembles that of one claimed author.

Influence

Several songs have been based on the song. In 1983, Cristy Lane released country gospel version of the song called "Footprints in the Sand". The song peaked at #64 on Billboard's U.S. Country chart and #30 on the U.S. Christian chart.[4]

A song based on the poem, called "Footprints in the Sand", was written by Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Richard Page and Simon Cowell and recorded by Leona Lewis.[5] It appears on Lewis's debut album Spirit. Another song inspired by the poem called "Footprints" was recorded by Dancehall/Reggae group T.O.K.

The poem was also used in the memorial service for Air France Flight 447 on 3 June 2009.[6]

References

  1. ^ Aviv, Rachel. "Enter Sandman: Who wrote footprints?". Poetry Foundation. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/180239. Retrieved 2008-08-05. 
  2. ^ Spurgeon, Charles Haddon (10 June 1880) (PDF). The Education of the Sons of God. Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols46-48/chs2722.pdf. 
  3. ^ I sing for I cannot be silent: the Feminization of American Hymnody, 1870-1920, June Hadden Hobbs, p. 123
  4. ^ "Cristy Lane chart". All Music. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p14907/charts-awards. Retrieved 12 August 2010. 
  5. ^ "Leona to release Sport Relief song". Virgin Media. 2008-01-31. http://musicnews.virginmedia.com/news/?news_id=52026. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
  6. ^ "Archbishop Of Paris Press Release". Air France. 2009-06-03. http://alphasite.airfrance.com/s01/press-releases/?L=1. Retrieved 2009-06-03. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Footprints in the Sand (song) — Infobox Single Name = Footprints in the Sand Artist = Leona Lewis Album = Spirit A side = Better in Time B side = You Bring me Down Released = Start date|2008|03|7|df=yes (see release history) Format = CD single, digital download Recorded =… …   Wikipedia

  • Footprints on Sand — Infobox Book | name = Footprints on Sand title orig = translator = image caption = first edition of Footprints on Sand author = L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp illustrator = C.H. Burnett cover artist = C.H. Burnett country = United …   Wikipedia

  • Footprint (disambiguation) — A footprint is a literal word for an impression left by a foot or shoe. Footprint or Footprints may also refer to:in science and technology: *Ichnite, a fossilised footprint *In industrial design, an item s footprint is the surface area it… …   Wikipedia

  • Footprint — Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while shoeprints is the specific term for prints made by shoes. They may either be… …   Wikipedia

  • List of songs that retell a work of literature — This is a list of songs which retell, in whole or in part, a work of literature. Albums listed here consist entirely of songs retelling a work of literature. 0 9 * 1984 by David Bowie is one of many songs he wrote about George Orwell s 1984 ,… …   Wikipedia

  • Steinn Steinarr — (born Aðalsteinn Kristmundsson, October 13, 1908 – May 25, 1958) was an Icelandic poet. Many Icelanders regard Steinn Steinarr as their greatest poet. Yet he remains almost unknown outside his country. The reason is simple. Effective translations …   Wikipedia

  • Spirit (Leona Lewis album) — Infobox album Name = Spirit Type = Studio Artist = Leona Lewis Released = Start date|2007|11|9|df=yes (see release history) Recorded = 2007 London, England Atlanta, Georgia Los Angeles, California Miami, Florida New York City, New York Stockholm …   Wikipedia

  • UNITED STATES LITERATURE — The Influence of the Bible and Hebrew Culture The Jewish influence on American literary expression predated the actual arrival of Jews in the United States in 1654, for the Puritan culture of New England was marked from the outset by a deep… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • List of works by H. P. Lovecraft — This is a complete, exhaustive list of works by H. P. Lovecraft. Dates are the time of composition, not publication. Many of these works can be found on . Fiction* At the Mountains of Madness (February 22 March 1931) * Azathoth (June 1922) *… …   Wikipedia

  • The Village Blacksmith — is a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in 1841. The poem describes a local blacksmith and his daily life. The blacksmith serves as a role model who balances his job with the role he plays with his family and community. Years… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”