There’s written poetry, and there’s musical poetry. In Flow Gently, Sweet Afton, verse by Robert Burns weds a tune by Jonathan Spilman to become this arrangement, played by Inspiration International. It also is known as the hymn As Rain from the Clouds.
Flow gently, sweet Afton! amang thy green braes,
Flow gently, I’ll sing thee a song in thy praise;
My Mary’s asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.
Thou stockdove whose echo resounds thro’ the glen,
Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den,
Thou green-crested lapwing thy screaming forbear,
I charge you, disturb not my slumbering Fair.
How lofty, sweet Afton, thy neighbouring hills,
Far mark’d with the courses of clear, winding rills;
There daily I wander as noon rises high,
My flocks and my Mary’s sweet cot in my eye.
How pleasant thy banks and green valleys below,
Where, wild in the woodlands, the primroses blow;
There oft, as mild Ev’ning weeps over the lea,
The sweet-scented birk shades my Mary and me.
Thy crystal stream, Afton, how lovely it glides,
And winds by the cot where my Mary resides;
How wanton thy waters her snowy feet lave,
As, gathering sweet flowerets, she stems thy clear wave.
“Flow gently, sweet Afton, amang thy green braes,
Flow gently, sweet river, the theme of my lays;
My Mary’s asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.
| Twelve Handbells, C5-G6 |  |
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| C5-G6 Score Package: | $10.00 US | |
| C5-G6 Practice track: | $2.00 US | |
| Twelve Handbells, F5-C7 |  |
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| F5-C7 Score Package: | $10.00 US | |
| F5-C7 Practice track: | $2.00 US | |
| Twelve Handbells, Bb4-F6 |  |
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| Bb4-F6 Score Package: | $10.00 US | |
| Bb4-F6 Practice track: | $2.00 US | |
Purchasing this 12-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group – so you only need to pay once. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.
