| "What Are They Doing in Heaven Today" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Washington Phillips | |
| Recorded | Dallas, Texas, December 5, 1928 |
| Genre | Gospel blues |
| Length | 3:15 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Charles Albert Tindley |
| Producer(s) | Frank B. Walker[1] |
"What Are They Doing in Heaven?" is a Christian hymn written in 1901 by American Methodist minister Charles Albert Tindley. As of 2015[update], it has become popular enough to have been included in 16 hymnals.[2][3]
The song has sometimes been recorded under the titles "What Are They Doing?" and "What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?". The question mark is often omitted. The song may also be known by its first line, "I am thinking of friends whom I used to know".
The song consists of four verses and a refrain, each four lines long. In both the verses and the refrain, the first three lines rhyme, and the fourth is "What are they doing now?" or some small variant of that. The author reflects on friends who were burdened in life by care, or by disease, or by poverty; and wonders what they might now be doing in Heaven, without giving his answer.[2]
The first known recording of the song is the 1928 one by Washington Phillips (1880–1954; vocals and zither), in gospel blues style.[4] Phillips' recording was used in the soundtrack of the 2005 film Elizabethtown. The song has since been recorded many times in a wide variety of styles, including gospel and bluegrass; sometimes attributed to Phillips or to "anonymous" or "traditional"[clarify].
- ^ Corcoran, Michael (December 29, 2002). "Exhuming the Legend of Washington Phillips". Austin Statesman. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ a b "What Are They Doing in Heaven?". hymnary.org. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
- ^ "Charles Albert Tindley 1851–1933". nethymnal.org. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
- ^ "Washington Phillips discography". wirz.de. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
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