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Souvenirs of Salvationism - Part 7
by Commissioner Wesley Harris
Dr. John
Fulton, an eminent New York clergyman, predicted that
Salvationists would sing their way around the world and as
early as 1886 William Booth claimed that this prophecy was
already fulfilled. From the beginning the Army’s message was
often carried on wings of song.
When sixteen-year-old Lieutenant Eliza Shirley was farewelled
from Coventry to pioneer work in the United States of America,
Captain Elijah Cadman presented her with a number of penny
songbooks. That was in 1879. Someone has inscribed 1882 in my
copy of that book which was hidden under the platform of the
old Clapton Congress Hall for many years. Included in the
volume is a collection of choruses grouped according to key
signature, some being designated as suitable for use on the
line of march,
Another souvenir is the ‘Musical Salvationist Song Book’
published in 1893 which was really two books in one, the first
containing 384 songs and the second 450. Among items
advertised at the end of the book were autoharps at seventeen
shillings and six pence which, it was claimed, were ‘very easy
to learn’!
Vocal solos were a common feature of early day Army meetings
and I have a number of volumes of songs suitable for this
purpose. One is ‘the Salvation Soloist compiled by General
Booth for use in Australasia’ and published in 1911.
Some of the songs included, such as ‘Thou art enough for me’
or ‘I’ll follow thee of life the giver’ are still in use and
part of the treasury of Army music. Others may have had only a
passing appeal, or been in light-hearted vein although not
without some serious purpose.
In the latter category was a number entitled, Smoking, which
included the following illuminating lines:
Smoking and spitting and dozing all day
Nasty, bad habit — oh throw it away!
Smash the pipe now; give your friends no more pain;
And never be such a big stupid again...
Another song, familiar to older Salvationists had the chorus:
‘Why do you wear that hat?’
The boys cry out to me.
I wear it for Jesus.
Wherever I may be…
That reminds me of a bandmaster friend of mine in the habit of
telling his bandsmen that the hat is as much part of uniform
as the trousers! Certainly, uniform wearing provides a way of
witnessing for Christ and is not something to be neglected.
Yet another song from the past included in my souvenir volume
had a chorus which should still be our prayer today:
The old-time power, Lord I am seeking today,
The old-time fire, help me to fight and to pray;
Life‘s too short to trifle, I’ll give thee every hour;
Come, Lord and give me again the old-time power.
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