Who was Marta Keen Thompson?

Answer 1

Taken from http://alfred.com/img/authors/keen.html

"Marta Keen Thompson has written and published children's songs and choral works since 1982. After completing a B.A. in English and Music at Texas Christian University in 1975, she completed K-12 vocal music certification at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, and began teaching elementary music and English in 1979. During her 16 years as a music educator for grades K-12, she completed a master's degree in Educational Media, wrote and directed children's musicals and performed as a pianist and singer throughout the Seattle, WA and Portland, OR areas. She received a graduate assistantship to Pacific Lutheran University, where she sang with the Choir of the West and studied choral composition. In 1996, Marta moved to Las Vegas, where she began a second career as elementary school librarian. Composition has taken a back seat to motherhood; her son Eli, is her pride and joy. Marta continues to arrange for and accompany church and community choral groups in the Las Vegas area. A lifelong student of Maria Montessori's philosophy and methods as well as the music methods and philosophies of Orff, Suzuki and Kodaly, Ms. Keen believes in the power of music to integrate and enhance all disciplines and inspire the whole child."

Her most famous musical work, as far as I know, are the lyrics and music to "Homeward Bound":

In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing

And the sky is clear and red.

When the summer's ceased its gleaming,

When the corn is past its prime,

When adventure's lost its meaning,

I'll be homeward bound in time.

Bind me not to the pasture,

Chain me not to the plow.

Set me free to find my calling

And I'll return to you somehow.

If you find it's me you're missing

If you're hoping I'll return,

To your thoughts I'll soon be list'ning;

In the road I'll stop and turn.

Then the wind will set me racing

As my journey nears its end,

And the path I'll be retracing

When I'm homeward bound again.

Bind me not to the pasture,

Chain me not to the plow.

Set me free to find my calling

And I'll return to you somehow.

In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing,

I'll be homeward bound again.