I Thank Thee, Dear Father / A Song of Thanks / Can a Little Child Like Me / Thank Thee, Father / Father, We Thank Thee for the Night / For Thy Bounteous Blessings
The following songs all share the theme of thanks and gratitude.
I Thank Thee, Dear Father
Text: S., 1866
Music: George Careless, 1905
“I Thank Thee, Dear Father” was first published in the April 1, 1866 issue of the Juvenile Instructor, under the title “Child’s Morning Prayer.” The short twelve lined poem was signed “S.,” and above the title was the note “For the Juvenile Instructor.” [1]
Two other works signed “S.” appear in the Juvenile Instructor for the year 1866, but unfortunately no other information is available to confirm his or her identity. However, the author was clearly a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [2]
The text was published in the first primary songbook, Eliza R. Snow’s Hymns and Songs: Selected from Various Authors, for the Primary Associations of the Children of Zion (1880). Snow made two minor text alterations, the most noticeable being in line 7, which was changed from “Bless Brigham and Heber and every good man” to “Bless every good woman and every good man.” [3]
Hymns and Songs was a words-only collection, but Snow also published an accompanying tune book the same year, Tune Book for the Primary Associations of the Children of Zion (1880). This tune book was much smaller than the text-only book, with only forty pages, and did not print the text of “I Thank Thee, Dear Father.” However, it was noted in the index that this song could be used with the tune for “How Firm a Foundation,” which in this collection was the tune we today associate with “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful.” [4]
The tune printed in The Children’s Songbook is by Latter-day Saint composer George Careless (1839-1932) and was first published in The Primary Song Book (1905). [5]
The second stanza was dropped in The Children Sing (1951).
A Song of Thanks
Text: Edith Rutter-Leatham, 1899
Music: Jonathan Battishill, 1765
“A Song of Thanks” is a short simple song:
Thank thee for the world so sweet;
Thank thee for the food we eat;
Thank thee for the birds that sing;
Thank thee, God, for everything!
The Children’s Songbook lists these words as anonymous, but they were written by an Englishwoman named Edith Rutter-Leatham (1870-1939). In the early years of the twentieth century the poem was almost always published without an author’s name attached, and Leatham’s authorship remained generally unknown until the 1930s. The answer to the text’s provenance was provided by G. H. White in the April 27, 1929 issue of Notes and Queries:
“In recent years great popularity has been attained by ‘A Child’s Grace,’ one verse of which runs:—
‘Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat;
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you, God, for everything.’
This was included (as anonymous) in ‘Child Songs’ (vol. i.), edited by Carey Bonner [(1908)]; since when, I understand, it has been adapted by many schools and by the Brownies. It was quoted recently in an article in the Daily Mail (6 Feb., 1929) and referred to in a letter from a reader in the same paper (13 Feb., 1929) but its author and provenance remains generally unknown. Accordingly it may be useful to record that it was written by my friend Mrs. Edith Rutter-Leatham, of Neville’s Cross, Durham (author of ‘Lyrics and Poems’ and ‘Silver Tongues’), and was first printed, under the title of ‘Mary’s Grace,’ in the volume of Our Little Dots for 1899.” [6]
Although the original 1899 printing of this poem has not yet been located, the 1899 date is confirmed by Carey Bonner, editor of the 1908 collection Child Songs:
“Mr. Carey Bonner, the editor of ‘Child Songs,’ writes to tell me that the grace they sing at Fishmongers’ Hall—‘Thank you for the world so sweet…Thank You, God, for everything’—which I mentioned last Wednesday—is given in ‘Child Songs,’ Vol. 1., as by “Anon.,” because when the book was issued every effort to trace the author failed. Mr. Bonner is now able to state that the grace was written by Mrs. Edith Rutter-Leatham. There are three verses in the full version and they were first published in 1899.” [7]
Very little is known concerning Edith Rutter-Leatham. She was born in Meadowfield House, Durham, England, in 1870, the daughter of William and Hannah Rutter. She contributed poems to the Spectator and other English periodicals and published at least three volumes of poetry: Lyrics and Poems (1913), Silver Tongues (either 1914 or 1916), and Music of the Day (1933). She was married to George Henry Leatham in 1898, and had a daughter, Lorna, who was born February 21, 1902, in Durham, England. Lorna later became a well-known author of children’s books under her married name, Lorna Hill. Edith Rutter-Leatham died in 1939. [8]
The music to which the words are almost always sung was adapted from a melody by Jonathan Battishill (1738-1801). It was first published in Twelve Hymns: the Words by the Rev. Charles Wesley, M. A., late student of Christ Church, Oxford, set to musick by Mr. Jonathan Battishill (1765), and originally set to Charles Wesley’s hymn “Jesus, Lord, we look to thee.” [9]
Today this tune it is usually known by the name BATTISHILL. In Songs of Praise Discussed, Percy Dearmer writes: “The original tune is an excellent, unexaggerated example of the ‘new style’ of Methodist hymn-tunes introduced in the 18th century; the present abridgement and adaptation is more in accordance with the taste of to-day.” [10]
The Children’s Songbook credits the music to simply “J. Battishill, 1738–1801.” It also has the following curious copyright notice at the bottom of the page:
“From First Year Music by Hollis and Dann. © 1957 by D. C. Heath and Company. Used by permission of American Book Company. This song may be copied for incidental, noncommercial church or home use.” [Note: “Hollis and Dan” is an error. The editor of this collection was named Hollis Dann (1861-1939), and he was an American music educator.]
The song appears in the 1914 edition of Hollis Dann’s First Year Music, which is now in the public domain. I have not been able to find a 1957 edition of this book, nor any reason why this song should have a 1957 copyright notice.[11]
“A Song of Thanks” was first published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Little Stories in Song (1940).
Can a Little Child Like Me
Text: Mary Mapes Dodge, 1877
Music: William Kipp Bassford, 1877
Mary Mapes Dodge (1830-1905), author of Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates, wrote the words to “Can a Little Child Like Me.” The music is credited in The Children’s Songbook to “W. K. Bassford,” or William Kipp Bassford (1839-1902), a well-known New York organist and composer. Bassford also likely the composed the music for the Christmas hymn “With Wondering Awe.” [12]
“Can a Little Child Like Me” was first published in St. Nicholas magazine for November 1877. [13] Dodge was the editor of this popular children’s magazine. The Children’s Songbook lists the birth year of Dodge as “about 1831,” and in fact, most biographical sketches of her life give 1831 as the year she was born. However, Dodge claimed on an 1873 passport application that her birth date was January 26, 1830, [14] but no primary source records have been found to verify this date.
Thank Thee, Father
Text: Alice Cushing Donaldson Riley, 1897
Music: F. Remsen, 1903
The words of this song were first published as “Morning Prayer” in Songs of the Child World, No. 1 (1897), a collection of songs by Alice C. D. Riley and Jessie L. Gaynor. Riley supplied the words to all the songs in this collection, which were set to music by Gaynor. [15] The original first line of “Morning Prayer” was “Lord we thank thee for this day.” It was changed to “Thank thee, Father, for this day” in The Children’s Songbook (1989).
The tune used with this text in The Children’s Songbook was first published in New First Music Reader (1903). This book printed the melody only, without piano accompaniment. It was set to a text credited to Gabriel Setoun (pseud. of Thomas Nicoll Hepburn), “When the day is nearly done.” [16] The tune was published with full piano accompaniment the following year in The Educational Music Course: Teachers’ Edition for Elementary Grades (1904). [17]
F. Remsen’s tune, with full piano accompaniment, in The Educational Music Course: Teachers’ Edition for Elementary Grades (1904).
The music has always been attributed to “F. Remsen,” but nothing is known about this person. The only information found is that he or she was an American composer. [18]
The first six lines of text were first published by the Church in the Children’s Friend in 1912. [19] The complete song, with music, was included in the 1920 edition of The Primary Song Book. [20]
Father, We Thank Thee for the Night
Text: Rebecca J. Weston, ca. 1882
Music: Grietje Terburg Rowley, 1989
There isn’t much new information to add about this song. The earliest that the text has been found thus far is in an 1883 book, The Story of Patsy: a Reminiscence, by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin. Although this book was published in San Francisco in 1883, it has a copyright date of 1882. [21]
No author was given in this collection. The words were first credited to Rebecca Weston in 1887 in Gertrude Walker and Harriet Jenks’ Songs and Games for Little Ones (1887), [22] and an obituary of Weston printed in the Kindergarten News in 1895 confirms her authorship. This obituary also indicates that the original title was “Father I Thank Thee.” [23]
This song was first published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Deseret Sunday School Union Kindergarten Plan Book (1904), [24] set to the tune by Daniel Batchellor that was used in Walker and Jenks’ 1887 collection. This tune was reprinted in Little Stories in Song (1940), The Children Sing (1951), and Sing With Me (1969). A different tune, by Richard B. Watkins, was printed with these words in More Songs for Children: a Supplement to Sing With Me (1978). A brand-new tune was composed for these words by Latter-day Saint composer Grietje Terburg Rowley for The Children’s Songbook (1989).
For Thy Bounteous Blessings
Text: Lester S. Bucher, ca. 1961
Music: traditional, arr. Vanja Y. Watkins, 1965
The earliest known publication of “For Thy Bounteous Blessings” is in William J. Reynolds and Cecil McGee’s Songs for Fun and Fellowship #2 (1961). [25] The original title and first line was “For Thy Gracious Blessings.” The words and music are anonymous in this collection, but in Silver Burdett Music 1: Teacher’s Edition (1978), the words are attributed to “Lester S. Bucher,” and the melody is listed as “traditional.” [26]
The author’s full name is Lester Samuel Bucher (1910-1982), and he was born in Milton, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1910. Bucher earned a B. S. in Education from the State Teachers College, West Chester, Pennsylvania, an M. S. degree in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctor of Education degree from Columbia University. He was employed as a teacher of instrumental music at the Horace Mann-Lincoln School at Columbia University for one year and afterward worked as music supervisor for the Music Department at the State Department of Education in Delaware. He was music supervisor for New Castle County, Delaware for seven years, a teacher of music at Newark High School, Harrington, Delaware, for one year, and a teacher of music in Harrington Public Schools, Harrington, Delaware, for three years. He then went to the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, where he served as professor of music education and was a special consultant in music education to the Tennessee State Department of Education, promoting music education in Tennessee Public Schools. In 1948, he was appointed state supervisor of music education in Virginia, where he remained for the next eight years. In 1956 he resigned from his position with the state to accept a job teaching music at Madison College (now known as James Madison University) in Harrisonburg, Virginia. After his retirement he moved to the greater Tampa Bay area in Florida, where he died on April 26, 1982. He was married to Mary Ann Brenneman in 1931, and had a son, Elliott Dyer Bucher, born December 1, 1936. [27]
“For Thy Gracious Blessings” was first published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Children’s Friend, November 1965, with the first line and title changed to “For Thy Bounteous Blessings.” The music arrangement was by Vanja Watkins. [28] It was added to the primary songbook in Sing With Me (1969). The Children’s Songbook reprinted Watkins’ 1965 arrangement.
The tune is labeled as “traditional,” but more research is needed to determine if this is true.
Notes:
[1] S., “Child’s Morning Prayer,” Juvenile Instructor 1, no. 7 (April 1, 1866): 25
[2] see S., “In our happy homes we sit,” Juvenile Instructor 1, no. 16 (August 15, 1866): 61; S., “Swimming in the River Rhine,” Juvenile Instructor 1, no. 21 (November 1, 1866): 83
[3] Eliza R. Snow, Hymns and Songs: Selected from Various Authors, for the Primary Associations of the Children of Zion (1880), 9-10
[4] Eliza R. Snow, Tune Book for the Primary Associations of the Children of Zion (1880), n. p.
[5] The Primary Song Book (1905), no. 29
[6] G. H. White, “Grace Before Meat Rhymes,” Notes and Queries 156, no. 17 (April 27, 1929): 304
[7] “The Fishmongers’ Hall Grace,” London Daily Chronicle, January 4, 1930, 6
[8] Biographical sources for Edith Rutter-Leatham:
* “England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007, database, “FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVHP-GZ7G : 3 November 2021), Edith Leatham, 1939.
* Percy Dearmer, Songs of Praise Discussed (Oxford University Press, 1933), 455
*Edith Rutter-Leatham, Lyrics and Poems (1913)
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175035249476&view=1up&seq=6
[9] Jonathan Battishill, Twelve Hymns: the Words by the Rev. Charles Wesley, M. A., late student of Christ Church, Oxford (London: C. and S. Thompson, 1765), 5
[10] Percy Dearmer, Songs of Praise Discussed (Oxford University Press, 1933), 284
[11] Hollis Dann, First Year Music: Rote Songs for Kindergarten and First Year (New York: American Book Company, 1914), 25
[12] Note: Bassford is not credited as composer of “With Wondering Awe” in the LDS hymnal. It was first published one month after “Can a Little Child Like Me,” in the December 1877 issue of St. Nicholas.
For more information about “With Wondering Awe” see https://ldshymnology.wordpress.com/2018/12/23/with-wondering-awe/
William Kipp Bassford was born in New York on April 23, 1839. He displayed a talent for music at an early age and had some musical instruction from pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk. He studied harmony and composition under Samuel P. Johnson, an organist from New York.
As a young man he performed as a piano soloist and traveled several years as a pianist with a concert troupe. He eventually settled in New York City as a music teacher and composer. He gave lessons in piano and organ at the New York Conservatory of Music. In 1874, with Angelo Torriani and Ernst Eberhard, he founded the Grand Conservatory of Music in New York. Bassford formed the “North New York Choral Society” in 1886, a choir consisting of trained voices, which he also directed.
Bassford also was employed as organist at the Madison Square Presbyterian Church in New York, and later (by at least 1888) was organist at Calvary Church in East Orange, New Jersey.
Bassford composed many songs, but his best-known works were his opera Cassilda, and his Mass in E flat. According to Brainard’s Biographies of American Musicians, Cassilda “was the first native opera published by an American music house.”(pp. 26-27). Bassford was also was selected by the widow of composer William Vincent Wallace to complete her husband’s unfinished opera Estrella.
He married Maria L. Boulard in October 1863, and had two sons: William Kipp Bassford, Jr., (1864-1923), a mechanical engineer and electrical inventor; and Milton (1866 – ). As Milton is not listed in the 1880 U. S. Census, it is assumed that he died sometime between 1870 and 1880.
William Bassford died December 22, 1902 in Belleville, New Jersey. He was interred at the Evergreens Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
Biographical Sources for William K. Bassford:
* “William K. Bassford” in the “New York, U.S., Episcopal Diocese of New York Church Records, 1767-1970,” Ancestry.com, database with image
* “William K. Bassford, Organist,” Boston Evening Transcript, December 23, 1902, 3
* E. Douglas Bomberger, Brainard’s Biographies of American Musicians (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999), 26-27
* “Death List of the Week,” New York Times, December 28, 1902, 29
* “Home News,” Musical Courier 13, no. 354 (November 24, 1886): 323
* Etude Magazine, March 1903, p. 110
* John Denison Champlin Jr., Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, Vol. 1 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1888), 130
* W. K. Bassford, Cassilda: an Operetta in Two Acts (New York: Wm. Hall & Son, [date illegible])
* Wm. K. Bassford, French matrimony, a comic opera in 3 acts (with libretto by William Hopkins Morris), MS copy of libretto at Brown University
* William Kipp Bassford, Mass in E flat, op. 52 (New York: E. Schuberth, 1875)
[13] “Can a Little Child Like Me,” St. Nicholas 5, no. 1 (November 1877):68
[14] “Mrs Mary E Mapes Dodge,” in the “U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925,” Ancestry.com, database with image, accessed September 27, 2023
[15] Alice C. D. Riley, Helen A. Lloyd, Jessie L. Gaynor, Songs of the Child World, no. 1 (Cincinnati: John Church Company, 1897), 42
[16] James M. McLaughlin, George A. Veazie, and W. W. Gilchrist, New First Music Reader (Boston: Ginn & Company, 1903), 40
[17] James M. McLaughlin and W. W. Gilchrist, The Educational Music Course: Teachers’ Edition for Elementary Grades (Boston: Ginn & Company, 1904), 120
[18] T. P. Giddings and E. W. Newton, The Junior Song and Chorus Book (Boston: Gin and Company, 1915), 242
[19] “First Grade,” Children’s Friend 11, no. 3 (March 1912):145
[20] The Primary Song Book (Salt Lake City, 1920), 135
[21] Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin, The Story of Patsy: a Reminiscence (San Francisco: C. A. Murdock & Co., 1883), 27
[22] Gertrude Walker and Harriet S. Jenks, Songs and Games for Little Ones (Boston, Oliver Ditson & Compnay, 1887), 7
[23] “In Memory of Miss Weston,” Kindergarten News 5, no. 9 (November 1895):320
[24] Donnette Smith Kesler and Rebecca Morris, Deseret Sunday School Union Kindergarten Plan Book (Salt Lake City: Deseret Sunday School Union, 1904), 176
[25] William J. Reynolds and Cecil McGee, Songs for Fun and Fellowship #2 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1961), no. 50
[26] Elizabeth Crook, Bennett Reimer, and David S. Walker, Silver Burdett Music 1: Teacher’s Edition (1978), 88
[27] Biographical sources for Lester S. Bucher:
* “Delaware, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKVM-TX1B : 13 March 2020), Lester Samuel Bucher, 16 Oct 1940; records extracted by FamilySearch, images digitized by Ancestry; citing “Draft Registration Cards for Delaware, 10/16/1940 – 3/31/1947,” NARA NAID 5833895. Records of the Selective Service System, 1926 – 1975, RG 147. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri, n.d.
* “Virginia,” Music Educators Journal 36, no. 6 (June-July 1948): 51=
* “State Department Changes,” Virginia Journal of Education 42, no. 1 (September 1948): 32
* “United States 1950 Census, database,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XLJ-5WYX : Wed Sep 20 14:28:30 UTC 2023), Entry for Lester S Bucher and Anne B Bucher, April 6, 1950.
* “Florida Death Index, 1877-1998,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VVWM-77H : 25 December 2014), Lester Samuel Bucher, 26 Apr 1982; from “Florida Death Index, 1877-1998,” index, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : 2004); citing vol. , certificate number 37201, Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, Jacksonville.
[28] “For Thy Bounteous Blessings,” Children’s Friend [64?], no. 11 (November 1965): 16
Latter-day Saint Hymnology 