Archive: Unofficial Hymns

by Riley B. Case

Many Methodist favorites were once barred from the Hymnal

Methodism was not many years in the New World before it became apparent that the Gospel’s best chance in America was to make itself relevant for the situation (“contextualization,” for those who like the word). A great awakening was not likely to be launched with black gowns, white neck bands, or even Wesley’s “Sunday Service.”

What was relevant for American Methodism and the ensuing Great Awakening was straight Wesleyan preaching and discipline in the setting of American-style revivals and camp meetings. Music was an important part of the Awakening, but the music was more than just British hymn-singing imported. As one early writer explained:

“At the commencement of the revival these familiar hymns (Wesley’s), known in all our orthodox congregations, were used; but it was soon felt that they gave but imperfect expression to the ardent feelings of the worshippers. The deficiency was principally supplied by the preachers. Hymns, or ‘spiritual songs,’ as they were more frequently called, to the cultured ear rude and bold in expression, rugged in meter and imperfect in rhyme, often improvised in the preaching stand, were at once accepted as more suited to their wants. These were quickly committed to memory, and to a considerable extent usurped the place of the older and more worthy hymns.”[1]

Thus was born the camp meeting “spiritual songs,” the forerunner of revival tunes, Sunday school songs, gospel, black gospel, charismatic choruses, and most of what is heard in evangelical churches today.

Some have called these camp meeting spirituals, both white and black, true American folk music. At the time, however, the songs were often referred to as “Methodist music,” and they soon found their way into print. One early collection, Pilgrim’s Songster (1810), featured the songs of two Methodists, John Granada and Caleb Taylor, and sold more than 10,000 copies. One of Francis Asbury’s oft-quoted admonitions indicates that these publishing efforts were not always appreciated by “official” Methodism: “We must therefore earnestly entreat you, if you have any respect for the authority of the Conference, or of us, or any regard for the prosperity of the Connection, to purchase no Hymn-Books, but what are signed with the names of your bishops.”

What the bishops put their signature to was not American fervor but English respectability. If there was an American revival it was not noticed in the official hymnal. Not a single American author was included in any official hymnal up to the time of the Civil War.

The story was quite different, however, for unofficial books. Between 1811 and 1897 at least 42 Methodist-related songbooks were issued. The most famous of these, The Revivalist(1868), was thoroughly American. Both Wesley and Watts were put to American tunes, and joined by American camp meeting spirituals, Sunday school songs, revival tunes, and choruses. Names associated with texts and tunes—Lewis Hartsough, Joseph Hillman, William Hunter, William Fischer, Phoebe Palmer—represented a who’s who among Methodist preachers and evangelists of the day. It was endorsed by Philip Phillips, music editor of the Methodist Book Concern, and sold 150,000 copies.

But Methodist enthusiasm was also an embarrassment for many. The 1878 Methodist Episcopal hymnal basically ignored indigenous American Methodist music. Ninety-two percent of its hymns were of British or European origin, and, outside of Wesley, there were more hymns by Unitarians than by Methodists. Only four of its 1,170 hymn carried a refrain (one sign of a gospel song) and fewer than five hymns in the whole book were associated with anyone west of Philadelphia or south of Washington.

Given the tremendous theological, cultural and musical gap between official and unofficial Methodism, it is no wonder there was a populist and Holiness revolt in the period 1880-1910. Music was a factor in that revolt, since the people who cried for spiritual pastors and spiritual churches also cried for spiritual songs. The formation of a dozen or so Holiness and Pentecostal groups, both white and black, during this period meant Methodism lost many of its “enthusiasts,” most of whom were poor and unsophisticated, the very kind of people that had flocked to Methodism in its earliest days.

This is not to suggest that Methodists were not still the major contributors in the growing popularity and influence of gospel music. The Methodist Fanny Crosby wrote 8,000 hymns, many of which are still popular today. The Methodist Ira Sankey became known throughout America and England and his Gospel Songs sold 50 million copies of the various editions. The Methodist Henry Gate founded the Hope Publishing Company, known at that time for the series of songbooks known as Pentecostal Hymns.

None of this seemed to matter much to the committee which compiled the 1905 hymnal, a joint effort of the M.E. Church and the M.E. Church, South. The editor of that hymnal, while commenting on the gospel song and the spiritual song, wrote that, while all Methodists believe in enthusiasm, Methodism “should never, we all agree, encourage a poor sinner or feeble saint to base enthusiasm on a bubble, a rattle, or a jingle.”

About 30 of the bubbles, rattles and jingles, however, were added to the book as a compromise, representing the first significant inclusion of revival music in any official Methodist book. The rest of the collection, besides Wesley (whose stock was falling with each new hymnal); leaned heavily on Anglican divines and Unitarian poets. Eighty-two percent of the hymns were of British or European origin (as if that was the place to find true religion), and besides the heavy infiltration of the Unitarians, there were more Congregational and Presbyterian and Episcopalian authors than authors of the M.E. Church, South, and almost as many as from the M.E. Church, North. Fewer than 10 of the hymns were associated with anyone west of Philadelphia or south of Washington.

But for bishops and the professor-types, that was “official” Methodism. So that there could be no mistake about how the bishops felt about the kind of music that was so popular among common people, the signed statement in the preface of the 1905 hymnal suggested that with the publishing of the new hymnal, any unauthorized books, “Which often teach what organized Methodism does not hold, and which, by excluding the nobler music of the earlier and later days, prevent the growth of a true musical taste” should be supplanted.

The bishops, besides showing their cultural elitism, were also naive. Gospel music, and other music associated with common people, instead of dying out, flourished even more. The Methodist Charles Tindley wove black folk music and revival gospel in a new genre which later became known as black gospel. Authors like the Methodist preacher George Bennard wrote hymns like “The Old Rugged Cross,” which became instant favorites. The Methodist Homer Rodeheavor made popular hymns like “He Lives,” and “In the Garden.”

The 1935 hymnal was not impressed with the likes of Tindley, Bennard, or Rodeheavor. The liberalism of official Methodism was on a roll and spoke of a new age, and hymns needed to reflect that new age. It was generally agreed that the culture and theology that produced gospel music was dying, and that the future was with peace, brotherhood, activity, zeal and service. The number of Wesley hymns in the 1935 hymnal were nearly halved, sections in previous hymnals on sin and judgment were wiped out, and, in a decision fraught with symbolic significance, hallelujahs were generally changed to alleluias (as in “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”). Anything that was left over from the revival was given a choir robe to wear.

The present (1964) Methodist hymnal is the first to have to stand up to statistical analysis. The “church-usage survey” gives a different view of United Methodism than the image of the sophisticated church given in liberal seminary classrooms. Of the nearly 150 hymns new to the 1964 hymnal, 50 (mostly contemporary hymns for a new age that were quickly dated) never made the first cut and will not be carried over into the 1988 hymnal. Another 50 (everything left, except Wesley songs, spirituals, and gospel) will be carried over to the new hymnal, but presumably without a lot of enthusiasm, since as a group the hymns average only 20 percent usage in the churches according to the church-usage study.

On the other hand, 20 spiritual and gospel hymns introduced in the 1964 hymnal carry a church-usage average of 77 percent. One of those (“How Great Thou Art”) is now the favorite hymn of United Methodists. At the same time it can be argued there is not a single contemporary hymn from the mainline (or liberal) Protestant tradition written in the last 50 years that is a popular favorite among United Methodists. The five poorest-ranked spirituals and gospel hymns new to the 1964 hymnal still rank higher on the church usage list than the five best-ranked of everything else introduced in that hymnal.

Who really are the United Methodists? What do they believe? What do they sing? The present hymnal committee is to be commended for its sensitivity to Methodism’s evangelical and gospel heritage and its willingness to affirm that heritage with the inclusion of more gospel, black gospel, spirituals, and choruses in the new hymnal. We will be a stronger church because of it.

Riley B. Case is a consultant to the Hymnal Revision committee and serves on two hymnal revision subcommittees.

[1] “The Early Camp Meeting Song Writers.” The Methodist Quarterly Review. 1859. p. 401.