| "The Sweet By-and-By" | |
Cover of original Lyon & Healy sheet music, 1868 |
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| Music by | Joseph P. Webster |
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| Lyrics by | S. Fillmore Bennett |
| Published | 1868 |
| Language | English |
| Form | Ballad |
| Recorded by | Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, many others |
"The Sweet By-and-By" is a Christian hymn with lyrics by S. Fillmore Bennett and music by Joseph P. Webster. It is recognizable by its chorus:
Contents |
Mr. Webster, like many musicians, was of an exceedingly 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 up by giving him a new song to work on. He came into my place of business [in Elkhorn, Wisconsin], walked down to the stove, and turned his back on me without speaking. I was at my desk. Turning to him, I said, “Webster, what is the matter now?” “It’s no matter,” he replied, “it will be all right by and by.” The idea of the hymn came 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,” he said indifferently. Turning to my desk I penned the words of the hymn 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. Taking 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.—Sanford Fillmore Bennett (1836-1898)[2]
The composer Charles Ives made use of the tune on several occasions, most notably in the last movement of his Orchestral Set No. 2, written between 1915 and 1919.
During the American Civil War, veterans sang a song devoted to "The Army Bean" which used a tune of which "The Sweet By-and-By" is derivative.
The song was parodied in 1911 as "The Preacher and the Slave". It also appeared in the Academy Award winning movie Sergeant York (1941) and in Benny and Joon.
In the New Orleans musical tradition, it is a standard dirge at so called "jazz funerals".
Andrés C. Gonzalez an early Latter-day Saint missionary in Mexico was not allowed to sing this hymn in a public location and was put in jail without trial during the Mexican Revolution. While in jail he wrote Spanish lyrics to accompany the same music. He was allowed to sing the modified version.[3] This same version continues in the current LDS hymnal under the name "Placentero nos es trabajar".[4] It is not included in the current English Hymnal but perhaps in older versions.[5] This version has become a beloved hymn among Latin American Latter-day Saint Christians [6]