We Plough the Fields and Scatter

Lyrics

We plough the fields, and scatter the good seed on the land;
But it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand:
He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain.

All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above,
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
For all His love.

He only is the maker of all things near and far;
He paints the wayside flower, He lights the evening star;
The winds and waves obey Him, by Him the birds are fed;
Much more to us, His children, He gives our daily bread.

We thank Thee, then, O Father, for all things bright and good,
The seed time and the harvest, our life, our health, and food;
No gifts have we to offer, for all Thy love imparts,
But that which Thou desirest, our humble, thankful hearts.

History

"We Plough the Fields and Scatter" began life as "Wir pflügen und wir streuen", a poem by the German writer Matthias Claudius written in 1782 as the peasants' harvest song within his sketch "Paul Erdmanns Fest" — a depiction of a fictional rural harvest festival, first printed in the fourth volume of his journal Der Wandsbecker Bothe in 1783. Claudius drew on the imagery of Psalm 144, and his original text ran to sixteen or seventeen stanzas (sources differ on the exact count), of which only a handful were later carried into English hymnals.

The English version sung today is the work of Jane Montgomery Campbell (1817–1878), who translated the German text around 1861, selecting and condensing stanzas from Claudius's original into the three-verse-and-refrain form now familiar in Anglican worship. She taught it to children at the Church of England parish school in London where her father was rector, and it was published in Charles Bere's "A Garland of Songs" and "Children's Chorale Book" before passing into wider hymnal use.

The tune, WIR PFLÜGEN, was composed by Johann Abraham Peter Schulz and published anonymously around 1800 in a collection of songs for elementary schools ("Melodien für Volksschulen"), only later credited to Schulz in print. Paired with Campbell's English words, it became — and remains — one of the most widely sung harvest hymns in British church life, a fixture of Harvest Festival services and also adopted for American Thanksgiving worship, prized for its simple, singable melody and its direct thanksgiving for God's provision through the created world.

Performance

This recording, titled "We plough the fields and scatter | Hymn with Lyrics · St. Martin's Voices" on the channel, is sung by St Martin's Voices; it runs 3 minutes 17 seconds and was published in 2023.

Sources: hymnary.org · en.wikipedia.org · hymnallibrary.org