He and his brother James were busily producing, editing, and
publishing songs in their Cincinnati publishing business, something that was in
their blood. Thus, a small product of this effort came very naturally to Fred
Fillmore one year very early in the new century. Although he and his family
evidently were not farmers, the words he wrote in “Sowing the Seed of the
Kingdom” speak of a different time, compared to ours a century later, when the
agrarian ways of perhaps many of his acquaintances was their lifestyle. And,
the same was also true of the era of the original composer, Palmer Hartsough,
who had joined the Fillmores in their Cincinnati business. Planting and growing
crops was familiar ground for early 20th Century American Christians,
who lived in an era and a nation where farms had multiplied by leaps and bounds.
So, the awareness of their surroundings by Fillmore and Hartsough, and how this
agrarian theme would resound in worshippers’ ears, is evident in the musical
questions they pose in a message about productivity in the eternal nation.
Frederick Augustus Fillmore and his brothers inherited and
carried on the musical life bred from their father. Augustus Fillmore had been
a preacher, hymnist, and publisher who moved his wife and seven children from
Illinois to Cincinnati where he set up a music business, the same one that Fred
and his brother James later continued after their father’s death. Another
brother Charles was likewise involved in editing the business’ monthly journal The Musical Messenger. Palmer Hartsough had joined the Fillmores’
effort by the late 19th Century upon moving to Cincinnati, and it
was probably soon thereafter that Fred became aware of Palmer’s first draft of “Sowing
the Seed…”. Hartsough had apparently crafted the words and music while still
living in Rock Island, Illinois in 1888, and then reworked it some more in 1896
after joining forces with the Fillmores. Still, it must have been less than
perfect, for Fred took hold of it by 1903 and revised it yet again. That Palmer, a notable writer with a few
hundred hymns to his credit, would apparently permit Fred to edit his work
suggests Fred had insight for sowing that Palmer had not acquired. Did Fred use
other words that would speak more clearly to the anticipated audience? Perhaps
it was the musical form that Fred chose to improve. Whatever the cause, 47-year
old Fred’s effort evidently satisfied his partner Palmer, since the song survives
113 years later as Fred crafted it. It started out in Illinois, made its way to
southwestern Ohio, and has travelled many other places since then, and to more
than just farmers.
It’s a few simple thoughts about planting seed at all times
of the day and in an area where the kernels can prosper. The words of Palmer
and Fillmore plainly coax the worshipper to consider the long-term outlook, for
what would there be at the end if the farmer doesn’t plant? What would I be
able to eat if some farmer didn’t plan and carry out his life’s work? They must
have been trying to reach an agrarian crowd, we can say about the composers,
but the terrain of this hymn is not foreign if instead I sit behind a desk all
day or at this computer. We all produce for more than just ourselves. Is what I’m
planting feeding others well?
Link to site showing the song’s three verses and refrain: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/a/y/s/aysowing.htm
Brief biographies of composer: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/f/i/l/fillmore_fa.htm
Biographies of two other brothers of the composer: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/f/i/l/fillmore_cm.htm
Some
history of the time is discussed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_%281865%E2%80%931918%29
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