Keep On the Sunny Side is a popular American song originally written in 1899 by Ada Blenkhorn (1858–1927) with music by J. Howard Entwisle (1866–1903). The song was popularized in a 1928 recording by the Carter Family

Carter Family

The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country...

. A recording of the song with The Whites

The Whites

The Whites is an American country music vocal group consisting of lead singer Sharon White, her sister Cheryl , and their father Buck...

 was featured in the 2000 movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a 2000 comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. Set in 1937 rural Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film's story is a modern satire loosely...

.

History

In 1899 Ada Blenkhorn was inspired to write the Christian hymn by a phrase used by her nephew. Blenkhorn's nephew was disabled and always wanted his wheelchair pushed down "the sunny side" of the street. The Carter Family learned of the song from A. P. Carter

A. P. Carter

Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter , best known as A.P. Carter, was an American musician and founding member of The Carter Family, one of the most notable acts in the history of country music.-Life:...

's uncle who was a music teacher, and they recorded the song in Camden, New Jersey in 1928. "Keep on the Sunny Side" became their theme song on the radio in later years. A.P. Carter's tombstone has a gold record of the song embedded in it.

Lyrics

There's a dark and a troubled side of life;

There's a bright and a sunny side, too;

Tho' we meet with the darkness and strife,

The sunny side we also may view.

[chorus]

Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,

Keep on the sunny side of life;

It will help us ev'ry day, it will brighten all the way,

If we keep on the sunny side of life.

Tho' the storm in its fury break today,

Crushing hopes that we cherished so dear,

Storm and cloud will in time pass away,

The sun again will shine bright and clear.

Let us greet with a song of hope each day,

Tho' the moments be cloudy or fair;

Let us trust in our Savior alway,

Who keepeth everyone in His care.

External links

• Henry Date, E A Hoffman, T C O'Kane, William Warren Bentley, Pentecostal Hymns, Number Three; a Winnowed Collection for Evangelistic Services, Young People's Societies and Sunday Schools (Chicago: Hope Pub. Co., 1902), pg. 28 http://books.google.com/books?id=WrNIUfvoYRgC&source=gbs_navlinks_s(accessed on July 15, 2009 on Google Books)
• The free score on www.traditional-songs.com