Description

William Edward Hickson

William Edward Hickson was born 7 January 1803, in London, England. He grew up the son of Edward Hickson who was a boot and shoe manufacturer. At an early age William not only rose to become a partner in his father’s business, but he seemed to develop an unwearying zeal in causes of social justice.

When Hickson was only in his thirties, he retired from the family business to pursue “philanthropic and literary pursuits.”

He believed in social justice and righteous causes and worked for the education and betterment of the masses. At one point, he traveled to certain nations of Europe to study their school systems that he believed were superior to the United Kingdom. In time he became the editor of the Westminster Review, a publication “noted for its commitment to legislative reform and popular education.”

Hickson was also a religious man. It was when the family moved to Northampton that he “became active in the Baptist church and Sunday school. “He was a firm believer in the importance of musical education and in its ability to inculcate good behavior through the singing of moral songs.”

Coupling his religion with his literary talents, Hickson wrote several hymns— even rewriting portions of the British National Anthem.

On 8 July 1840, he penned a letter to a friend, William Lloyd Garrison in which he designed to support Garrison’s own “peculiar cause–the extinction of slavery” Hickson asked “What use we are making of one of the most powerful levers by which the masses have ever been moved?” The powerful lever upon the masses was music. He sent Garrison a newly composed “calculated to sustain moral courage.” That hymn begins as follows,

Now to heav’n our prayer ascending,

God speed the right;

In a noble cause contending,

God speed the right.

Be our zeal in heav’n recorded,

With success on earth rewarded.

God speed the right.

You may or may not have sung this hymn in your life, but it is almost a certainty that you have quoted one of William Edward Hickson’s other poems. The most famous poem Hickson ever wrote begins as follows,

This is a lesson you should heed,

Try, try again.

If at first you don’t succeed,

Try, try again;

Then your courage should appear.

But if you will persevere,

You will conquer, never fear.

Try, try again.

If we strive, it’s no disgrace,

Though we may not win the race,

What should you do in this case?

Try, try again.