Hymn of the Week: July 6, 2020

Sweet By and By

Text by Sanford Fillmore Bennett (1836-1898)
Music Joseph Philbrick Webster (1819-1875)

The Drugstore Hymn

There's a land that is fairer than day, and by faith we can see it afar; for the Father waits over the way to prepare us a dwelling place there.

In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore. In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore.

We shall sing on that beautiful shore the melodious songs of the blest; and our spirits shall sorrow no more, not a sigh for the blessing of rest.

In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore. In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore.

To our bountiful Father above we will offer our tribute of praise, for the glorious gift of his love and the blessings that hallow our days. 

In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore. In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
 

In 1868, in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, Joseph Webster walked into his friend’s, Sanford Bennett’s, pharmacy. The fiddler and composer, Webster walked into the store dealing with yet another bout of depression. His friend Sanford asked him, “What is the matter now?” Joseph replied, “It’s no matter, it will be alright by and by.” It’s important to know that the two friends had collaborated on many hymns together. An idea hit Sanford like a bolt of lightning, and he ran to his office and began writing the poem you see above. 30 minutes later, and several patient customers later, the poem was written. He stated: “Here is your prescription, Joe, I hope it works.” A tune came to Joseph and he pulled out his fiddle and began to compose. There were two other customers in the store and together they had a quartet in no time. Within 30 minutes we have one of the most often recorded and well-loved hymns of this period that has now been loved and sung for the next 150 years.

Now, let’s fast forward to 2020. At last week’s Montreat conference, Joy and I learned of this story in Mel Bringle’s (herself a wonderful hymn writer) lectures on hymnody. During these lectures she looked at how hymns dealt with subjects of death and dying, hell, heaven, and how we look at these hymns now. Considering the immense loss the country was reeling from after the Civil War, it became a comfort to think of heaven as the place we will get to. It will be our reward when we die, when we all are reunited with our loved ones.

Now comes the twist to the story that I realized I was familiar with, but never put the two threads together. Enter a man named Joe Hill who worked for the laborers in 1911. He wrote a parody of this week’s hymn called “The Preacher and the Slave.” Here is his refrain which points toward this idea of waiting until heaven to get your reward. His viewpoint seems to be to work to make the Sweet By and By happen here and now. Joe Hill’s version has been taken up by such folk singers as, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

You will eat by and by

In that glorious land above the sky

Work and pray, live on hay,

You’ll get pie in the sky when you die.