Hymns Alive! Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory

By Dr. Craig Westendorf

“Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory” is a fixed part of the American psyche, and not without  reason. The music predated Julia Ward Howe’s unforgettable lyrics by at least several decades.  It came out of a folk tradition, and at least the chorus was used in campmeetings. As such, it  would have been very familiar to citizens in both the North and South. Because it was so freely  distributed, various lyrics were attached to it, some rather irreverent and sarcastic. One of the  best known was the Abolitionist anthem, “John Brown’s Body Lies A-Mouldering in the Grave.”  Union soldiers were quick to take this over, along with other versions such as that sung by the  “Bloody Tenth Ohio Regiment,” with the chorus “Say Brothers, will you meet us?” 

Julia Ward Howe met Lincoln in 1861, which inspired her to give lasting valor to this rather  misused tune. The contagious march-like melody was finally fixed as a true American treasure  with her lyrics full of Biblical reference and the psalmist’s cry for justice.