A List of the 8 Oldest Songs in Our Gray Book

[TitusP]

"Sing Out Joyfully To Jehovah" has 8 songs carried over from the 1928 "Songs of Praise to Jehovah" book. That is the oldest they go, in current form. Of course, some of our songs have roots going back centuries, such as #277 in the 1905 edition "Hymns of Millennial Dawn," "All To Thee," which can be directly paralleled with current song #50, My Prayer of Dedication. In this post, I am referring entirely to songs with the direct tune or lyrics of their original composition, the oldest of which are only found in the 1928 songbook. 

 

Sing Out Joyfully to Jehovah: 4, 14, 31, 71, 82, 110, 113, 146.

 

4, Jehovah Is My Shepherd, by Harriet c. Swan, 1924. Historical designation: 2009, 22. 1984, 77. 1966, 41. 1950, 30. 1944, 31. 1928, 333.

 

14, "Praising Earth's New King," by Harriet c. Swan, year unknown. Historical designation: 2009, 99. 1984, 168. 1966, 84. 1950, 63. 1944, 47. 1928, 336.

 

32, "Oh, Walk With God!" by A.C. Coxe, year unknown. Historical designation: 2009, 26. 1984, 138. 1966, 71. 1950, 56. 1944, ? 1928, 221.

 

71, "We Are Jehovah's Army!" Tune unknown. An interesting note about this song, the title was "Forward! Be Our Watchword" and the original lyrics were from 1871 by Henry Alford, and F. S. Barnes. The original tune, however, was shed entirely in favor of the exact one we know today. Like many other hymns used by the Bible students, the original lyrics were used for a time, with slight changes made for doctrinal conformity. You can look up the original recording on YouTube by Andrew Remillard. The tune of the original song has roots going back to the 1700's.  I believe the original song by F.S. Barnes was written for use in the Episcopalian church; correct me if I'm wrong. The timing is 4/4, and the modern lyrics of "We Are Jehovah's Army!" still match up to the tune of "Forward! Be Our Watchword."

 

82, "Let Your Light Shine" by Mary C. Jewell, 1905. This is the oldest song in our book to date, that I'm aware of anyway. Historical designation: 2009, 93. 1984, 63. 1966, 32. 1950, 17. 1944, 22. 1928, 68.

 

110, "The Joy Of Jehovah" by author unknown? Obviously, this song used to be "I am Jehovah!" which I still play on the piano. It suffered at the hands of modernization in 2009, losing its entire chorus, perhaps for the fact that the timing was weird and difficult to keep up with, if you weren't careful. You'll have to listen to the 1984 and 2009 versions to hear the huge difference. In any case... 2009, 74. 1984, 61. 1966, ? 1950, 25. 1944, 28. 1928, 335.

 

113, "Our Possession of Peace" by Mary c. Jewell, year unknown. Historical designation: 2009, 39. 1984, 159. 1966, 67. 1950, ? 1944 ? 1928, 315.

 

146, "Making All Things New" Author, year unknown. Historical designation: 2009, 14. 1984, 187. 1966, 97. 1950, 73. 1944, ? 1928 334. Funny how a lot of these carryovers were grouped together originally.

 

Correct me on any wrong dates, please. If you know missing dates, I'd love to see them!

 

ON A SIDE NOTE, I am looking for recordings of the 1928, 1944, 1950, and 1905 songbooks/hymnals. If you have recordings of these, please let me know!

[Dages]

I love very old songs. There was a YouTube channel with these but it was closed 😢

[TitusP]

2 minutes ago, Dages said:

I love very old songs. There was a YouTube channel with these but it was closed 😢

I recall. JW Music history. I believe the legal department had that guy for lunch...🤣

First the 2009 recordings disappeared, then the entire channel due to a DCMA takedown. That was my favorite channel too. It actually got me interested in the music to a greater degree.

[Dages]

I should have saved my favorite ones... There were beautiful songs back in the day.

Edited September 8, 2022 by Dages