This 40-year-old farmer-evangelist-hymnwriter was showing something of himself, perhaps memories that he’d carried a long time of “Bringing in the Sheaves” as a boy who grew into manhood at an early age. The sheaves (perhaps very similar to these wheat sheaves in this Vincent Van Gogh 1885 painting) that Knowles Shaw probably saw in his mind were in east-central Indiana, the scene of his boyhood. He might have remembered the sweat and back-breaking moments he endured on the farm where he grew up, but these images did not linger as downbeat notes for him. If Knowles was in touch with the audience with whom he first used this song, there were probably others who heard him that had done the same kind of work, and who shared his reaction. Sparked by some ancient scripture he was reading, and maybe even underscored by his life circumstances, Knowles focused on the emotional result of this labor – joy.
A sense of satisfaction, of accomplishing something and seeing the fruit of one’s effort – that was something that Knowles Shaw had experienced first-hand. He’d done many jobs as a teenager as a consequence of his father’s death when Knowles was 12 years old, including most likely chores on the Rushville, Indiana farm where he and his mother and two sisters lived. The boy grew up quickly, learning many other things like carpentry, plastering, shoe repair, store clerking, and teaching. His violin-playing lent him still more connections to the community where he grew and became well-known. When he decided to devote himself to God’s work and turn his musical talent to soul-winning, it was the memory of his father’s deathbed admonition to live for God that propelled Knowles forward. One can imagine that Evangelist Shaw was preparing a message one day using a piece of scripture (Psalm 126) that resonated with him and his expected audience. Did Indiana farm work mingle with otherwise unhappy circumstances, so that the Psalmist’s verses about ‘weeping’ and ‘tears’ were juxtaposed with ‘carrying sheaves’ joyfully? This was a message from a fellow who had had plenty of large obstacles that could have barred his way – especially the death of his father and dropping out of school to support his family in his pre-teens. Perhaps Knowles saw in hindsight, through his father’s death and the violin music that he learned, the ‘sowing seeds’ that grew into a bounty when paired with the faith that his father urged him to follow. The abundance in Knowles’ life extended beyond his Indiana roots to countrywide tours in which he reportedly converted thousands of listeners to Christ. Though his life was cut short in a terrible train accident in Texas when he was 43 years old, Knowles’ contributions – his joyful expressions, ‘bringing in sheaves’ – were many, including five hymnals that he published in the 1868-1878 period.
Farm work can be very taxing, speaking from personal experience. Drenched in sweat, with little bugs crawling on you, and hay mixed in with briars to scratch up one’s hands and arms – that’s not a lot of fun. How much of this would sound familiar to Knowles Shaw? But, at the end of the day, try standing under a shade tree with a piece of juicy watermelon or a popsicle, and look at the empty fields and hay wagons. Imagine that, and how might you feel? There is some inner fulfillment, though I wasn’t ready to admit that as a sixteen-year-old. I might not be in a hayfield these days, but I still remember how it feels to gather sheaves in other ways. What field are you working in today?
See more here, including all three verses and the refrain: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/b/r/i/n/bringing.htm
See very brief account of the song story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bringing_In_the_Sheaves
See an account of the author’s untimely death here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/s/h/a/w/shaw_k.htm
See a very short biography of the author here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowles_Shaw
And, a longer biography here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9722357/knowles-shaw
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