We Plough the Fields and Scatter

"We Plough the Fields and Scatter" is an English hymn commonly associated with harvest festival. The hymn was originally German, by poet Matthias Claudius, "Wir pflügen und wir streuen" published in 1782, and set to music in 1800, and attributed to Johann A. P. Schulz. It was translated into English by Jane Montgomery Campbell in 1861. It appears in a shortened form in the musical Godspell, as the song, "All Good Gifts". It is amongst the most performed of hymns in the United Kingdom.

In 1777, Matthias Claudius had become ill and returned to Christianity after leaving it in his 20s. During his illness he wrote a number of poems. In 1782, a friend invited him over for dinner and asked him to bring one of the Christian poems he had written. Claudius wrote "We Plough The Fields And Scatter" based on Psalm 144 for this occasion with 17 verses. The poem was then published in "Asinus omnia sua secum portans" as a peasant's song. From there, it was published across Germany in number of hymnbooks. The majority of these cut down on the original 17 verses with the publishers often deciding to start with the 3rd verse which started with "Wir pflügen und wir streuen" (English: We Plough The Fields And Scatter).

In 1862 in England, Jane Montgomery Campbell, who was proficient in the German language, started to translate a number of German hymns into English. She translated "Wir pflügen und wir streuen" into English as "We Plough the Fields and Scatter"; however, she did not make a strict translation from the original German but ensured retention of the hymn's original focus of giving thanks to God for the harvest. She taught the hymn to the children at the Church of England parish school in London where her father was the rector. The hymn was later published in Charles Bere's Garland of Songs and Children's Chorale Book.

The hymn is predominantly used as a hymn to give thanks to God for the harvest and it has also been used in the United States as a hymn for Thanksgiving. The hymn has also been referenced in popular culture. In 1969, future Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, John Betjeman parodied the hymn as "We spray the fields and scatter/the poison on the land" published in Harvest Times as a protest against modern farming methods and new planning legislation.

...
Wikipedia