Abstract
The phrase “fall on the rock” reverberates through Shaker song and discourse, exemplified by an 1840s gift song long attributed to New Lebanon that begins, “Fall on the rock and be ye broken.” The phrase appears to simply echo Jesus when he speaks in a parable of the “cornerstone” upon which a person might fall and be broken into pieces. But evidence from a range of sources suggests other layers of meaning that this phrase held for the Shakers, resonating with pivotal events that occurred early in Shaker history. Moreover, evidence also points to an earlier western origin of “Fall on the rock and be ye broken,” a song that remains popular among the contemporary Shakers. Further excavation reveals the many interesting ways that rock and stone have been employed in Shaker spiritual metaphor.
Date
4-1-2024
Volume
18
Number
2
First Page
147
Last Page
168
Journal Title
American Communal Societies Quarterly
ISSN
1939-473X
