History of a Song: July - "Put Your Shoulder To the Wheel"

When the pioneers were crossing the country on their way toward the West Coast, most of the pioneers used various carts or other wheeled vehicles for their journey. The origin of the phrase “to put one's shoulder to the wheel” is a phrase that describes the work of leaning against the wheel of the vehicle that is stuck in mud out of a rut and using your physical strength to push the wheel ahead out of the hole, etc... Another way to describe this is “putting in a great effort in order to accomplish a formidable task”. The idea of a 'the shoulder to the wheel' is an ancient one and can be found in one of Aesop's proverbs called “The Tale of Hercules and the Waggoner”. The tale goes as follows...

A Waggoner was once driving a heavy load along a very muddy way. At last he came to a part of the road where the wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the deeper sank the wheels. So the Waggoner threw down his whip, and knelt down and prayed to Hercules the Strong.

"O Hercules, help me in this my hour of distress," quoth he. 

But Hercules appeared to him, and said:

"Tut, man, don't sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel."

The gods help them that help themselves

The author of these lyrics along with the music is Will Lamartine Thompson who was born on November 7, 1847 in East Liverpool, Ohio to a well off family. He began writing music while in his teens and he constantly took notes of any idea, verses, etc... that occurred to him throughout the day. He attended the Boston music school for a few years after reaching his majority and graduating from Mount Union College in Ohio. He then studied advanced music in Germany. He had always wanted to write music and so after many failed attempts at getting his songs published, he started his own publishing company. He wrote both secular and non secular music and he was known by his peers and neighbors as a quiet, good man. He was also known for his travels by horse and buggy from one small community to another throughout Ohio singing his songs to the individuals living there. He was also sometimes called the 'Bard of Ohio'. One of his hymns ( 'Softly and Tenderly, Jesus Is Calling' ) is believed to be the hymn that has been translated into the most languages.

He married Elizabeth Johnson and had one child – a son named William Leland Thompson. He was taking a tour of Europe with his family when he became ill and the entire family cut the trip short and returned home. He died a few weeks later on September 20, 1909 in New York City, New York and was buried in the Riverview Cemetery in East Liverpool, Ohio. By the end of his life, he had written and sold hundreds of songs and sheet music.

This is one of my favorite songs and my son has found a love for it as well. It is energetic and I sometimes use it as motivation for working when nothing else has really helped. Does this song mean anything to you? What images and emotions does it evoke in your mind?

History of a Song: June - “Each Life That Touches Our Life For Good”

This song was written by Karen L. Davidson and the music was written by A. Laurence Lyon. This song was pretty interesting to research because I discovered that both artists are members of the LDS church. In my random 'picking' of songs, I haven't really hit on that phenomenon. In fact I have started to get the idea that most authors and composers of hymns that are included in the current LDS hymnbook are not actually members or even enthusiasts of the Mormon church.

Karen Lynn Davidson was born in 1943 in the United States. Ms. Davidson received her first two degrees from Brigham Young University and her doctorate from the University of Southern California. Later she did some post-doctoral research and also taught English as a school or two. She is an author as well as a hymnwriter. She has written two hymns including “Each Life...” that are included in the current LDS edition of the English hymnbook. She was one of two editors of the recent publication of Eliza R. Snow: The Complete Poetry (Documents in Latter-day Saint History) which was published in 2009. Karen Davidson was also interviewed by J. Stapley who writes for the LDS blog “By Common Consent”about her work. She is currently working as a co-editor of one of the volumes in the Joseph Smith Papers Project.

A. Laurence Lyon was born in 1934 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. His father was serving as the President of the Netherlands mission of the Mormon church. He became a great piano player and at age 16, he was called as the organist for his LDS congregation. He served a mission in the Netherlands and he also sang at the dedication of the LDS Swiss Temple. A. Lyon got his bachelor's degree at the University of Utah and then later received a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music. He became a very productive composer. He has been active in his participation with the music for several temple dedications. Two of his works are included in the current edition of the LDS hymn book including “Each Life...” and songs in the Children's Songbook (Primary hymn book) including “An Angel Came To Joseph Smith” and “Christmas Bells”.

I must confess that I had never heard this song that I know of until a few weeks ago. I was flipping through the hymnal the other day while listening to a speaker and this song just caught my eye and I couldn't let it go. I came home and listened to it several times over the last few weeks. It seems to grow on me the more I listen to it... Have you heard this song? Do you have any particular thoughts about it? Do you know the authors so you can give us an idea of the inspiration behind their work? I am very interested....!

History of a Song: February - "I Hope They Call Me On A Mission"

(I have wondered sometimes about the history of some of the primary songs and the hymns we sing in church. So I thought that I would look one up once a month and indulge myself!)

The song “I Hope They Call Me On A Mission” was original written in 1970 by Newel Kay Brown. He is originally born in Salt Lake City (a leap year baby!) and currently as of 2010 lived in Texas. He also wrote a few pieces for flute and clarinet as well as a hymn currently in the hymnal (#71 With Songs of Praise). During an interview, Brother Brown said that his inspiration for the song came from one of his favorite songs “A Mormon Boy”. When he was asked to contribute a song on missionary work for possible inclusion in a song book, he tried to write a song that reminded him of his long ago favorite.

This song is one of the few songs that it is fairly guaranteed that most Mormon children will know by heart before they reach their age of majority. It has been performed by Enoch Train, Ryan Shupe and the Rubberbands as well as inclusion in a LDS movie or two. It has also been made into a satire by John Bytheway (Somehow They Called Me On a Mission) and a spoof of the song was reported to travel around the BYU co-ed dorms for a while.

*****I hope they call you on a mission
So you'll be gone a year or two.
By then, I'll probably be married
So I'll no longer have to deal with jerks like you*****

This song is interesting in a few ways. One is its almost universal appeal- children like to sing it and seem quite exuberant about it. I do wonder how many children truly understand the lyrics and really want to go on missions based on thousands of repetitions of a song. I guess I also wonder how guys feel about this song in general. I mean, men are not really allowed to 'hope' they will be called- it is practically mandatory. So I think that girls can make the decision as they are growing up and 'hope to be called', but that is not the same situation as boys. And the church in many ways does not advocate for women to go on missions...

So, if you went on a mission, do you think that this song helped you 'decide early' to go on a mission? What does this song mean to you?