February Favorites – Number Three in the Countdown
Sweet By and By is one of the songs featured in a medley for our choir anthem in the number three spot in our February Favorites. This tune was composed by Joseph P. Webster (1819-1875) while the words were penned by Sanford F Bennett (1836-1898). These gentlemen lived and worked in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Webster was the town music teacher and composer, while Bennett was the proprietor of the local drugstore. Mr. Bennett recounts this story later in life as he recalls how “Sweet By and By” first came in be.
Mr. Webster, like many musicians, was of an exceeding nervous and sensitive nature, and subject to periods of depression, in which he looked upon the dark side of all things in life. I had learned his peculiarities so well, that on meeting him I could tell at a glance if he was melancholy, and had found that I could rouse him by giving him a new song on which to work. He came into my place of business, walked down to the stove, and turned his back on me without speaking. I was at my desk writing. Turning to him I said, “Webster, what is the matter now?” “It’s no matter,” he replied, “it will be allright by and by.” The idea came to me like a flash of sunlight, and I replied, “The Sweet By and By! Why would not that make a good hymn?” “Maybe it would,” said he indifferently. Turning to my desk, I penned the words as fast as I could write. I handed the words to Webster. As he read, his eyes kindled, and stepping to the desk, he began writing the notes. Takin his violin, he played the melody and then jotted down the notes of the chorus. It was not over thirty minutes from the time I took my pen to write the words before two friends with Webster and myself were singing the hymn.
For more interesting information on the use of this tune see this wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Sweet_By_and_By.
