Let Every Heart Rejoice and Sing – Henry S. Washburn

It was the 4th of July, and there was a celebration. Independence and the thankfulness he felt as a citizen of America was no doubt on the mind of Henry Stevenson Washburn that year in Boston, Massachusetts. Where in Boston was Washburn that day? Fan­euil Hall (pronounced like ‘manual’ or ‘panel’), otherwise known as the marketplace and a meeting hall in Boston, was celebrating its 100th birthday that year. So, there were multiple reasons to congregate and celebrate, and being a native of Massachusetts (born in Kingston, Mass.), Washburn was aware of that day’s significance for Faneuil Hall, as well as for the nation at large. It was the historic site of speeches by men who led the American independence movement, and its inspirational legacy was still operative that day, even if Washburn might not have realized it then. He wrote words in the song “Let Every Heart Rejoice and Sing” that would have sounded familiar to patriots, as well as to God-fearing people.

Because the song was written for the occasion, Washburn probably intentionally chose some words that would be appropriate for a partisan crowd feeling proud and joyous over their freedoms. ‘Anthem’ is used twice in the song, and calls to mind a nation’s melody, its “national anthem” (although The Star-Spangled Banner would not be officially designated the American national song until 1916 by Executive Order, and then by Congress in 1931). ‘Honor’ and ‘our fathers’ (like our nation’s fathers) also hint at the loyal feelings Washburn wanted to engender. But, Washburn’s focal point is God and His glory and goodness. It’s said that the city’s Sunday school kids sang the song that July 4th, 1842, but in reality adults could have sung this song too as God’s children.

Patriotic feelings come easily for me, how about you? What about Henry Washburn? There is enough we know about him to suspect his life by 1842 had gone well. In 1842, he was 29 years old, and had been blessed to have a higher education, at Wor­ces­ter and Brown Un­i­ver­si­ty. Later in life, we know he became a businessman in the man­u­fac­tur­ing industry in New England, and eventually in 1875 was pre­si­dent of the Un­ion Mu­tu­al Life In­sur­ance Com­pa­ny. He was also a secular poet, known for “The Va­cant Chair,” a tale that later also became a song about a young officer from Massachusetts who died in the Ci­vil War. The song became popular in both the North and the South. Washburn evidently wasn’t content to be blessed for his own sake, for he tried motivate others to a higher moral ground with his words. His poetry in both the spiritual and secular worlds reached his peers, and survives still today. His example should say something to me. If I’m blessed, if I have freedoms that I might not otherwise enjoy, tell others to join me in saying ‘thanks’. Tell others I’m blessed, first, because the Lord is good.

See information on Henry Washburn and his song “Let Every Heart…” at: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/l/e/t/letevhrs.htm

See following for information on Faneuil Hall: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faneuil_Hall

See the following about the poem Washburn wrote : http://www.civilwarpoetry.org/union/songs/chairexp.html