Sunday School Songs

The origin of the Sunday School can be traced back to 1780 when Robert Raikes began Sunday classes for children in Gloucester, England. Sunday Schools were soon established in England and America. In 19th century America, the Sunday School experienced phenomenal growth. From fewer than 100,000 children in 1824, Sunday School enrollment increased to over 600,000 by 1831 and 3,250,000 by 1875. [Source will to be cited.]

Originally the Sunday School songs included texts such as those from Isaac Watts’, Divine and Moral Songs for Children (1715):

How glorious is our heavenly King,
Who reigns above the sky!
How shall a child presume to sing
His dreadful majesty?

and

Why should I love my sports so well
So constant at my play,
And lose the thoughts of heaven and hell,
And then forget to pray.

Such texts were generally thought too severe for American children. Consequently, collections of Sunday School songs specifically intended for children were compiled and became very popular after about 1860. For example, William Bradbury's collection, Golden Chain (1861). Perhaps his best known children's hymn is "Jesus Loves Me" (1862).

The texts and tunes of the Sunday school songs had features which influenced the development of the later gospel songs:

The texts emphasized three phases of religious thinking:

1. the joys of Heaven
2. the love of Christ for the person singing
3. satisfaction gained in living the Christian life.

The texts expressed little social consciousness.

They were subjective and were set in common, everyday English.

The music appealed to children and adults alike.

The melodies were bright and catchy, with few rhythmic complications.

They were harmonically simple, almost entirely made up of the the three primary chords: tonic, dominant and subdominant.

The usual form was a ballad-like verse with a refrain, similar to many camp meeting songs

These features can be seen clearly in almost any example from this period.

Some important people associated with the development and composition of 19th century American Sunday School songs and collections:

These popular songs which had been associated with the Sunday Schools soon became strongly identified with the revival meetings of Dwight Moody (1837-1899). In this new setting the Sunday School Song became known as the Gospel Song, so named after P. P. Bliss’, Gospel Songs (1874) and Bliss and Ira Sankey’s, Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs, (1875).