Social and Camp-meeting Songs, for the Pious

At the crossroads of frontier revivalism and early American hymnody, Social and Camp-Meeting Songs, for the Pious offers a glimpse into the fervent devotional culture of the early 19th century. Published in Baltimore during the height of the Second Great Awakening, this compact hymnal-presented here in a faithful facsimile of its 1822 fourth edition-was designed not for choirs or cathedral pews, but for the converted, the gathered, and the convicted.

This collection of texts reflects a transitional moment when hymnals often appeared without musical notation, relying instead on memory, oral tradition, and communal repetition. Many of its lyrics, already popular hymns, later found a lasting home in the shape-note tradition,. But it is the source of at least one original song, the enduring favorite "Brethren, We Have Met to Worship," first printed here in 1817 and now sung across traditions as "Holy Manna."

This facsimile edition includes a brief introductory essay and an appendix cross-referencing more than sixty of the hymns with their later appearances in shape-note tunebooks such as The Southern Harmony, The Sacred Harp, The Valley Pocket Harmonist, and others. It is a fascinating companion for those interested in early American religious folk song, the roots of Sacred Harp singing, or the grassroots devotional culture that shaped the nation's musical landscape.