Song Form

A: O thou blue sky, under blue cover hast thou hidden my beloved Lord? x2
B: Open thy cover, let me discover, x2
C: My beloved Lord, in thy heart of hearts, x2

Begins with a one-beat pickup on “O thou.” A is in 3/4; B and C are in 4/4, with a short bar on “heart of hearts.” 16 bars in mixed meter, asymmetric feel.

Notes

• A has first and second endings. The first time, “beloved Lord?” leads straight into “O thou” and back to the top of A. The second time, it ends on a short 2/4 bar, “loved Lord?”, before B.

• In A, be alert to the rhythm on “hidden.” “Hid-” is a quick sixteenth note, and “-den” follows right away and is held through beat 2. “My be-” then comes on beat 3. It’s easy to smooth this into even beats.

• “Heart of hearts” is a short two-beat bar both times. The last one is short so that the “O thou” pickup completes it when you return to the top.

• For kirtan, this chant needs a skilled percussion group to navigate the meter changes. A is in 3/4 and has one short 2/4 bar on the second ending, while B and C are in 4/4 with an eighth-note feel and a short 2/4 bar on “heart of hearts.” Kirtan players will want to be aware of these changes.

• A good repeat is to loop B and C as a sub-form. B can also be sung an extra time or two, in sets of two, to add devotional emphasis.

• A good ending is to repeat C several times, then end on “My beloved Lord, in thy heart of hearts.”

Listen to SRF Recordings

Videos on YouTube

• 2023 Convocation Monks' Kirtan (Bro. Devananda)

• 2021 Convocation YSS Monks' Kirtan at Smriti Mandir

• 2025 Convocation Nuns' Kirtan (90-minute)

Audio Recordings

• O Thou Blue Sky (Bro. Kamalananda), from the album Thy Heart of Hearts
  Spotify · Apple Music · Tidal

• O Thou Blue Sky (Sr. Ishwari), from the album Light the Lamp of Thy Love
  Spotify · Apple Music · Tidal

• O Thou Blue Sky (instrumental), from the album I Am the Sky
  Spotify · Apple Music · Tidal