Onward We Go

DESCRIPTION: "When differences divide our way, Onward we go, When we can't find the words to pray, Onward... Faith that's like a mustard seed Grows as high as any tree." Continue through life with tolerance and hope, willing to learn
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 2014 (Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Jesus campsong
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 499, "Onward We Go" (notes only)
NOTES [259 words]: Averill, as usual, is not clear about which song she means by "Onward We Go." There are at least two such. The one that is more common online is cited in the description; I am guessing that is the one she means. But OneTuneMore has a different one, with words credited to "Mr. and Mrs. David Macintosh." It is a round that begins "Work together for each other Onward we go, onward we go." I don't recall finding that elsewhere.
The parable of the mustard seed, the small seed which grows to be almost as big as a tree, is found in Matthew 13;31-32, Mark 4:30-32, Luke 13:18-19. Jesus also refers to faith like a mustard seed in Matthew 17:20=Luke 17:6. These are the only Biblical mentions of mustard [σιναπι, sinapi], believed to be a reference to Brassica nigra. The song, like the parable, exaggerates; mustard grows quickly, but is an annual, so it is never larger than a medium-sized bush. Birds could land in it, but there would not be time for them to nest in it once it reached a decent size. (So the article on "Mustard" in volume III of [George Arthur Buttrick et al, editor], The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, four volumes, 1962 (a fifth supplementary volume was published later)). The word is thought to be of Egyptian origin; there is a classical word for mustard that was considered a "better" word.
The emphasis is not on mustard as a seasoning but on the belief that the seed of the mustard plant was smaller than any other. This isn't technically true, but the mustard seed was apparently the smallest known to the ancients. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: ACSF499O

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography