Either J. R. Baxter or his partner in music, Virgil O.
Stamps, must have been feeling pretty upbeat when they collaborated on a song
and published it in 1926. Which one, you say? There would be plenty you could
put in that category, if you knew of the reputation of these two and had
listened or sang any of their toe-tapping tunes. But, just hearing the title “He
Bore It All” might not have led you to consider this one as the instrument of
celebration. Its three verses begin with thoughts that are some of the most dismal
in the entire bible. Was Baxter hoodwinked by Stamps when the latter composed the
music to go with this song’s lyrics? Who would celebrate the Messiah’s ignominy
and execution? Did either fellow read his bible when he thought about what they
were doing here? Let’s see if we can re-trace their footsteps and answer these
questions.
Jesse Randall Baxter was 39 years old, and had just
purchased an interest in Virgil Stamps’ gospel music publishing company in
1926, although he had already been involved with music for some time. He’d
studied with Thomas Mosley and Anthony Showalter before he hooked up with Stamps,
and later ran his own school of music, while also writing a number of his own
songs. So, in this culture, one could be
pretty certain that J.R. “Pap” Baxter must have consulted his bible or heard others
read scripture in his 39 years before he wrote the words to “He Bore It All”. Jesus
suffered -- endured agony, in fact -- and was disgraced between two common criminals
before succumbing to capital punishment. It would be sacrilegious to rejoice,
if there were not more to the story. The apparent mismatch between the song’s buoyant
music and some of its words might leave the believer wondering what’s going on
here. But Baxter’s other song words suggest he’d read his bible carefully,
noting exactly what the God-man said about his own demise. It’s something we,
along with the Apostles, could easily miss. His own death predictions included reassurances
of the resurrection, too (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:18-19). The third time he
addressed this subject with his companions ends with an exclamation point (at
least in Matthew’s account). ! means excitement, even joy! How would you or I
have reacted? Without Baxter and Stamps here to interview, the only evidence we
have of their reactions to this episode are their words and music. “He Bore It
All” parallels the words of Jesus – ‘I’ll suffer a cruel death, but that won’t
stop me from coming back for you all!’ Wow! That must have been Baxter’s and
Stamps’ reaction, and so they collaborated to transform this dirge into a
festival.
The song’s title might more aptly be ‘That I Might Live’, a
refrain Baxter uses to answer why Jesus was such a willing participant in His
own death. And Baxter did indeed live here on earth. He was eventually inducted
into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1997, recognition of
his impact upon the many that he touched with his music career. It’s probably
also a testimony about his attitude toward others, and about the Christian
story he tried to draw others toward through the music medium. Upon Baxter’s
death, a friend indicated that his gentleness was what he remembered about Pap
Baxter. Pap also evidently enjoyed music – why else would he choose this
career? I wonder how much more he’s enjoying it now.
Biographic information on the composer found in the
following:
No comments:
Post a Comment