Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

My favorite Thanksgiving hymn is Come, Ye Thankful People, Come, so I decided to do a little research on it since Thanksgiving is next week.  It was written by Henry Alford, a pastor in England, in the 1840s.  Henry Alford served as pastor for 18 years in the farming village of Wymeswold, England, at the St. Mary's church, pictured below. (Picture is from Wikipedia).  He wrote the song for the English Harvest Festival.  He also published many other psalms and hymns.  I liked what Henry put on his tombstone, "An Inn of a Pilgrim Traveling to Jerusalem". 

Come, ye thankful people, come;

Raise the song of harvest home.

All is safely gathered in,

Ere the winter storms begin.

God, our Maker, doth provide

For our wants to be supplied;

Come to God's own temple, come;

Raise the song of harvest home.