Story Behind the Song
Thomas A. Dorsey's "Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” Horatio Spafford’s “It is Well.”
The Rev. Canon Douglas B. Edwards, February 21, 2010
“The Word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.”
The sermon began with unscripted remarks on the Gospel, Epistle, and Decalogue.
Did you know that creation literally groans? And it does so as a basso profundo. Using NASA equipment, Cambridge University in England, has digitally recorded music coming from heart of a super-massive black hole some 250 million light-years from earth. Almost every choir director I know yearns for additional bass voices, the “big Bottom.” Now if you go outside late at night to a quiet place and listen most carefully…you’ll be wasting you time. The music is a single note made over and over again. It’s a b flat, but the pitch is about 57 octaves below middle C. Now that’s a big bottom!
This morning I would like to share with you the stories of two great pieces of American Christian music that have touched the souls of millions, “Precious Lord,” written by Thomas Dorsey during the Depression, and “It is Well with my Soul,” penned by Horatio Spaffold while steaming from New York to England in 1871.
Thomas Dorsey's "Precious Lord" has been called "the greatest gospel song of all time." People around the world know it, sing it, and love it because of its profound message of hope and faith. Written in 1932, it continues to appeal deeply to new generations of listeners. This morning I would like to share its story. Like so many great hymns of faith, the song was inspired by a horrific tragedy in the life of its composer.
Thomas Andrew Dorsey was born in rural Georgia in 1899, the son of an itinerant preacher, the grandson of a slave. By age 12, Dorsey left school to become a professional pianist. He played at house parties throughout Atlanta's black districts. In his early 20s, Dorsey settled in Chicago. There he played, sang, and published blues compositions. He made his living playing piano at “speak-easies.”
In 1925 Dorsey married Nettie Harper. A year later, he experienced a nervous breakdown and was unable to work for two years. To survive, his wife took a job in a laundry to support them. Now weighing a mere 100 pounds, and told that his death was imminent, Dorsey (at the urging of his sister-in-law) attended a church service where he experienced a spiritual healing. To mark his new life, he wrote his first gospel song, "If You See My Savior, Tell Him That You Saw Me." His efforts left him broke. In those says 2nd Class mail was a penny a piece. Having written over 200 songs, he borrowed $5 and sent copies of his music to 500 churches. He went three years without a sale.
In a forward to a collection of Gospel Music, Dorsey wrote “In August of 1932, I had the greatest shock of my young life, just as things began to look promising for a great future. I left home for St. Louis, Missouri. I left my wife, who was soon to become a mother, got my clothing, got into my car with (my friend), and we started for St. Louis to sing in a revival meeting. I turned and went back to my home, went into the room. My wife was asleep. I did not awake her or disturb her sleep. I eased my music case out and went back to the car. The man who was going with me changed his mind and said, "I'm not going. Drop me out at the corner." So I did and went on alone. The next night in St. Louis, while I was singing in a meeting, a boy brought me a telegram to the Church. I opened it and it read: "Your wife just died." I could not cry out in the meeting but as soon as I could get out, I called my home in Chicago and all I could hear them say was, "Nettie is dead. Nettie is dead."
(I) arrived (home) the next morning. I rushed into the house. They had not moved the body of my wife but would not let me see her. I had a fine, healthy-looking baby boy, but that night the baby died. Although he got only a faint glimpse of the light of day and a few short breaths of life, I gave him a name, Thomas A. Dorsey, Jr.
After putting my wife and baby away in the same casket, I began to feel that God had done me an injustice. I didn't want to serve Him anymore or write any more gospel songs. I wanted to return back to the jazz world that I once knew so well before. Then a voice spoke to me and said, "You are not alone. I tried to speak to you before. It was you that should have gotten out of the car and not gone to St. Louis instead of the other man that got out and stayed home."
In the midst of despair, a friend visited Dorsey and arranged for him to be left alone in a music room with a piano. "It was quiet; the late evening sun crept through the curtained windows," Dorsey recalled. “There, in my solitude, I began to browse over the keys like a gentle herd pasturing on tender turf. Something happened to me there. I had a strange feeling inside--a sudden calm, a quiet stillness. As my fingers began to manipulate over the keys, words began to fall in place on the melody, like drops of water falling from the crevice of a rock:
Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand;
I am tired, I am weak. I am worn.
Through the storms, through the night, lead me on to the light;
Take my hand, Precious Lord, lead me home.
To date, the song has been translated into 32 languages.
Writing 25 years ago, Dorsey notes, “The price exacted for "Precious Lord" was very high. The grief; the sorrow; the loneliness; the loss; the uncertainty of the future. But I was requited or repaid with double dividends and compound interest. The Lord blessed me with another wife, Kathryn Dorsey, and two fine children, Thomas Dorsey, 39 years old, Doris M. Dorsey, 38 years old, and grandson, Thomas A. Dorsey III, 15 years old. I am happy at 81 years of age."
A second American hymn from an earlier era also invites reflection. “It is well with my soul” was written after two major traumas in the life of Horatio Spafford. The first was the great Chicago Fire of October 1871, which ruined him financially. (He had been a wealthy businessman.) Shortly after, his wife and four daughters were crossing the Atlantic aboard the S.S. Ville de Havre. The ship collided with another ship causing the S.S. Ville de Havre to go do. After several days of waiting, Horatio received a telegram from his wife Anna. The two word telegram read, “Saved alone.” His daughters had drowned in the Atlantic.
Several weeks later, as Spafford’s traveled to England to reunite with his wife, his own ship passed near the spot where his daughters die. In prayer, the Holy Spirit inspired these words. They speak to the eternal hope that all believers have, no matter what pain and grief befall them on earth.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, It is well, with my soul, When sorrows like sea billows roll; It is well, with my soul,
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.
To meet these men in their own context, it would be hard to imagine anything in common except that they shared the same city. Thomas Dorsey, a black run-away musician trying to reconcile his love for God with his love for jazz heard at illegal night clubs in Chicago’s lower side in the days of Prohibition-- a circumscribed life. Horatio Spafford, on the other hand, was a white upper class Chicago businessman from the best neighborhood until that cow kicked over that lantern and destroyed his fortune.
In fact, Dorsey and Spafford shared much. Both men had a deep faith in God, a bedrock faith to see them through their saddest days. Both men were willing to reflect on their faith and write down their thoughts…and share their thoughts with others. (Hey guys, did you get that?) And both men lived their days, following their tragedies, with a joy that comes from serving the Lord.
This week Victoria Cloninger, a most wonderful woman, died after a battle with cancer. She served this parish so very faithfully as principal of our day school until its close last year. Her care and love for her students and staff were matched by her professionalism and compentency. She well fulfilled her vocation as a Christian educator. Her memorial service will be tomorrow at one o’clock.
What can you take away from this sermon? Simply, that when sadness, grief, loss, or suffering comes your way, know that you are not alone. Our God loves you and will give you a new song. Let these great songs of the Church be walking sticks to strengthen you on your journey.
“When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him….”
The congregation sang “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”
