Now the green blade riseth, from the buried grain,
Wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
John MacLeod Campbell Crum (1872-1958) wrote this text to be paired with the popular French carol melody "Noël Nouvelet", sometimes referred to as "French Carol".
During his life, Crum was highly active in the Church of England. After his education at Eton and New College in Oxford, he took Holy Orders becoming Deacon in 1897. He held various positions including chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford, Francis Paget (1901-1910), assistant curate at Windsor, vicar of Mentmore at Ledburn (1910-1921), and finally canon at Canterbury (1928-1943).
While serving the church, Crum worked in a variety of theological areas and wrote on biblical and architectural topics, as well as studying historical works, and writing children's books. He wrote many hymns which ranged from translation of Latin hymns by the fourth-century poet Aurelius Clemens Prudentius to children's hymns. He published a "Songs of Praise for Boys and Girls" in 1929 and a play (The Play of St. George in 1911), and a pageant, (Children's Missionary Pageant in 1910) with musical score.
This hymn text first appeared in the 1928 edition of the Oxford Book of Carols. For those in the northern hemisphere who live in areas where springtime usually coincides with Easter, the image of growing plants and vegetation speaks clearly as a metaphor for Jesus' resurrection.
The vivid imagery of the hymn is biblically based on selected verses. 1 Corinthians 15:37-38 connects the image with the resurrection: "And that which sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body." (KJV)
Notably, in the fourth verse, Crum emphasises that no matter what we are going through, "Jesus' touch can call us back to life again."
Our choir have recorded a multi-tracked version of "Now the Green Blade Riseth" arranged by Terry.
