To his loving arms.
John G. McCurry places his name as composer at the top of the page where this song is found in the Social Harp and dates it 1852. A note at the bottom says: “This tune was arranged as sung by William Bowers, Eagle Grove, Georgia.” Eagle Grove is a few miles south of Hartwell. The tune is a clear borrowing from ‘Wearing of the Green’. See also ‘Our Goodman’, Sharp, i., 269, for melodic similarities. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘[Glorious Prospect]’. In The Musical Quarterly, vol. xxii., No. 2, I have called attention to melodic similarities between the above tune (with its variants ‘Oh For my Soul’s Happy’, ‘We’ll Wait Till Jesus Comes’, and ‘O When Shall I see Jesus’ in this collection) and Stephen Foster’s ‘Annie My own Love’ and ‘Hard Times Come Again No More’.
No. 173
[HEAVEN’S MY HOME], OSH 119
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII)
Come, all my dear brethren and help me to sing,
I’m going to Jesus, he’s heaven’s great King;
He died to atone for the sins of the world,
His banner is flying his sails are unfurled.
Heaven’s my home, heaven’s my home;