The oldest poem in the book

We like to sing the old songs; that’s one of the reasons we sing from The Sacred Harp. But what is the oldest poem in the book? While some anthems use exclusively Scriptural texts (and so are very old indeed), what about non-scriptural poems? Which is oldest?

It turns out to be an easy question to answer. I remember being so surprised when I learned that 235 LONG SOUGHT HOME is listed as having its poet citation as Anonymous, ca. 1600. It doesn’t really seem like a hymn from the 1600s. As it turns out, it really is from way back then, with roots that are even older. Fortunately, we have a fairly clear picture of the development of this text. Most of what I’ll say can be found in this more complete article Mater Hierusalem, civitas sancta Dei at the Hymnology Archive.

Back in the 11th century or so, a monk named Johannes wrote a work called the Liber Supputationum, which was eventually erroneously attributed to St. Augustine. It contains a meditation on the heavenly city of Jerusalem, the church; it draws on imagery from The Song of Solomon (including some pretty strong sexual images):

O Jerusalem, that art my mother, O thou holy city of God, thou most dear spouse of Christ our Lord, my heart loves thee, and my soul is extremely desirous to enjoy thy beauty. O how graceful, how glorious, and how noble art thou? Thou art all fair, and there is no spot in thee. Exult and rejoice, O thou fair daughter of the Prince; for the King hath earnestly desired thy beauty: and he who excelleth all the sons of men in beauty, hath been enamored with thy comeliness But what kind of man is that beloved thine, who is so much beloved, O thou fairest of women? My beloved is white and red, the choice of a thousand. As a fruit tree in the midst of a wild wood, so is my beloved, amongst the sons of men: under his shadow, whom I have desired, behold I sit down with joy, and his fruit is sweet to my throat. My beloved put forth his hand through a division in the wall, and my belly trembled upon that touch of his.

A metrical version of the meditation was published in 1585 in a work called The Glasse of vaine-glorie. It starts:

O Mother dear Hierusalem
Iehuas throne on hie,
O sacred Citie, Queene & wife
of Christ eternally.

My hart doth long to see thy face,
my soule doth still desire
Thy glorious beautie to behold
my mind is set on fire.

This text was adapted and attributed to “F.B.P.” It may have been published as early as 1593. It contains 26 stanzas of four lines. These include the the first two verses (with alterations) found in The Sacred Harp; verses 1 and 7 in the original.

Hierusalem, my happy home!
When shall I come to thee?
When shall my sorrows have an end,
Thy joyes when shall I see?

Thy walls are made of pretious stones,
Thy bulwarkes diamondes square;
Thy gates are of right orient pearle,
Exceedinge riche and rare.

And then this text was adapted again, in 1790, in a work called Collection of Sacred Ballads, by Richard and Andrew Broaddus. This contains only ten verses, but contains all the verses we have in The Sacred Harp, pretty much intact:

Jerusalem, my happy home,
O how I long for thee!
When will my sorrows have an end?
Thy joys when shall I see?

Thy walls are made of precious stone,
Most glorious to behold
Thy gates are richly set with pearl,
Thy streets are pav'd with gold.

My friends, I bid you all adieu,
I leave you in God's care,
And if I never more see you,
Go on I'll meet you there.

It also contains a verse that is not in LONG SOUGHT HOME, but one familiar to many who sing it as the last verse of “Amazing Grace”:

When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first begun.

I think the chorus (“Home, sweet home, my long sought home, My home in heaven above”) is added when this text is paired with a tune by William Bobo and put in The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion — again, with ten verses (but a new verse, perhaps, and not the “When we’ve been there…” verse).

I think this enters The Sacred Harp in the 1936 edition, with the verses we still have today. It’s attributed to “Francis Baker Priest, about 1750,” which a guess about what “F.B.P.” stood for (that is, Francis Baker, (a) Priest). But that’s disputed by hymnologists, and F.B.P. goes back to the 16th century, in any case.

As I said, almost all of this comes from the Hymnology Archive article, Mater Hierusalem, civitas sancta Dei, which also provides a side-by-side comparison of the early versions.

It’s so interesting to see this text pass from Latin prose to English poetry, through various metrifications and adaptations. A hymn about the church as the bride of Christ eventually becoming a song of longing for heaven and the sweet sorrow of parting from friends.