Heaven Came Down – John Willard Peterson

You could say that two gentleman, perhaps two generations apart in age, wrote this song. Forty-year-old John Peterson probably did not suspect as he guided singing one day that another older man would in fact guide him to a song. But, “Heaven Came Down” through that on-the-spot coincidence of these two fellows in northeast Pennsylvania (see picture of Montrose here) in 1961, producing this musical story just a week later. You don’t know when two paths may intersect to germinate something special, but do you suppose composers are more attuned to unpredictable circumstances and the possibilities they bring?

It came about during a summer in Montrose, near the Pennsylvania-New York border in 1961, but it’s fair to say the pump had already been primed for many years in more ways than one for a musical fountain to flow. A white-haired man known only as ‘old Jim’ had evidently been converted to the Christian faith some years previously, although that experience must have still been fresh in his mind as he stood to tell his story. It was a bible conference that brought the old man to that place where the comparative youngster John Peterson was directing the forum’s singing. Peterson had been engaged in musical enterprises ever since his teenage years, including in Montrose for the Singspiration Musical Company for the previous seven years. He was a music pro. So, when he asked for folks in the crowd to share their stories, did he in fact suspect someone might recite something unique? Was he searching for that next hit? Did the music that day motivate ‘old Jim’ (we can guess from the description of him with white hair that he might have been around 80 years old or more) to pour something from his heart in a new way? Some things evidently coalesced, for when Jim uttered the words of the chorus’ first line, they captured John’s attention, who says he knew immediately this one would be a first-rate effort. The seed of the song—its embryo—is what Peterson says is most important, and he heard it that day, and saw it on the face of Jim. The old man’s face may have been wrinkled, but he radiated something potent. He’d been in contact with His Spirit, kinda like Moses, and his insides just couldn’t keep it hid.

So “Heaven Came Down” off John Peterson’s pen about a week later, perhaps as he recalled not just ‘old Jim’s’ words, but his face too. John, over the decades, wrote some 1,000 tunes, prompting one to imagine that he must have seen and heard similar faces and words as he lived and carried out his musical ministry. Montrose…it could be like any other little town in America, population about 1,500 people. But, He’s not too particular about the size and location of a place. Nazareth --  what good could come from there? Are you in a Nazareth today? Look at the faces, hear the voices…     

The following sources provided background for this story:

 Stories Behind Popular Songs and Hymns, by Lindsay Terry, Baker Book House 1990 and 1992; and The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Also see this site: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/p/e/t/peterson_jw.htm

Background on the song’s birthplace: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose,_Pennsylvania