Description

The Drugstore Song

The ability to sing and play a musical instrument had an important role emotionally and spiritually in the settlement of the United States. An American writer of children’s books, Laura Ingalls Wilder, wrote a series of “Little House” books, which were a fictionalized account of her childhood. They contained vivid descriptions of pioneer life in the 1870’s and 1880’s. In “The Long Winter”, she wrote that a highlight of enduring particularly brutal weather was her Pa playing hymn tunes on his fiddle after dinner while the family sang. In her memoir “Pioneer Girl”, written later in life, she recalled: 

“Pa played by ear and a tune once heard, he could play and never forget. He loved to play the hymns we had sung in the little church, … but of all, ‘The Sweet By and By’ was his favorite, so much that it was sung at his funeral.” 

In another article, she wrote: 

“I am sure that when I come to die, if Father [Charles Ingalls] might only be playing for me I should be wafted straight to heaven on the strains of ‘The Sweet By and By,” for the pearly gates would surely open.”

This much-loved hymn had its origin in a drugstore in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, and was a collaboration between two friends. Sanford F. Bennet (1836-1898) was born in Eden, New York. His family moved to Wisconsin and he attended the University of Michigan. He began publishing poems and stories in newspapers in the 1850’s and even became an associate of a newspaper. He volunteered and served in the Civil War. After the war, he became the owner of a drugstore and then pursued a degree in medicine, graduating as a doctor in 1874. He had a successful medical practice for twenty years and also continued writing, publishing a collection of approximately 100 hymn texts in 1868.

Sanford had a friend in Elkhorn named Joseph Philbrick (J.P.) Webster (1819-1875). Born in Manchester, New Hampshire, he showed musical talent as a youngster and trained with successful composers of the day. He played several musical instruments and performed as a soloist and pianist. Due to health concerns, he retired from the stage, moving to Elkhorn, where he had a successful career teaching and composed the music for hundreds of ballads and hymns. He collaborated with his colleague Sanford Bennet in producing many songs.

Dr. Sanford Bennet wrote about the composition of the song “In the Sweet By and By “in 1868. He explained that J.P. Webster had a nervous and sensitive nature and had times of depression where he looked at all of the negative things in life. As friends, he knew him well enough that he could tell at a glance if J.P. was feeling melancholy. 

In Sanford Bennet’s autobiography, he told the following story:

 “He came into my place of business [in Elkhorn, Wisconsin], walked down to the stove, and turned his back on me without speaking. I was at my desk. Turning to him, I said, ‘Webster, what is the matter now?’

“‘It’s no matter,’ he replied, ‘it will be alright by and by.’ 

“The idea of the hymn came to me like a flash of sunlight, and I replied, ‘The Sweet By and By! Why would not that make a good hymn?’ 

“‘Maybe it would,’ he said indifferently. 

“Turning to my desk, I penned the words of the hymn as fast as I could write. I handed the words to Webster. As he read the words, his eyes kindled.  I stepped back to my desk and he began writing the notes while seated at [by] the stove. Taking his violin, he played the melody and then jotted down the notes of the chorus. It was not over thirty minutes from the time I took my pen to write the words before two friends with Webster and myself were singing the hymn.” 

As the men were singing the new hymn, R.R. Crosby, Sanford Bennet’s uncle, came into the store. “I never heard that song before!” exclaimed Mr. Crosby. “I heard it across the street and couldn’t resist coming in to hear it better. That hymn is immortal.” 

It was used in public shortly after, for within two weeks children on the streets were singing it. The song, which was written in a drugstore, spread quickly. It became immensely popular in the nineteenth century and has continued to be a loved hymn today, being published in 639 hymnals.

The friends continued to live in Elkhorn. When J.P.  died in 1875, the epitaph on his headstone said, “Joseph P. Webster. In the Sweet By and By We Shall Meet.” 

 

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.

(Chorus)

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 the rest. 

 

(Chorus)

To our bountiful Father above,
We will offer the tribute of praise,
For the glorious gift of His love,
And the blessings that hallow out days!

 

Chorus:

In the sweet (by and by) by and by (by and by),
We shall meet on that beautiful shore (by and by),
In the sweet (by and by) by and by (by and by)
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

 

Sources:

https://enjoyingthejourney.org/hymn-history-sweet-by-and-by/

https://hymnstudiesblog.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/sweet-by-and-by/

https://hymnary.org/text/theres_a_land_that_is_fairer_than_day_an

http://www.pioneergirl.com/blog/archives/4794

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Sweet_By-and-By

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Ingalls_Wilder

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Pioneer Girl. South Dakota Historical Society Press, 2014.

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. The Long Winter. Harper Collins, 2006.