Come, Ye Thankful People, Come Lyrics Henry Alford, 1844
3 verses, public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. 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.
Verse 2. We ourselves are God’s own field
Fruit unto his praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown
Unto joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade, and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest! grant that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.
Verse 3. For the Lord our God shall come,
And shall take his harvest home;
From his field shall purge away
All that doth offend that day;
Give his angels charge at last
In the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store
In his garner evermore.
Words copied from New Baptist Hymnal (1926). They were published in 1844, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
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The story behind Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
Henry Alford wrote this harvest hymn. It first appeared in his Psalms and Hymns in 1844, while he was vicar of Wymeswold in Leicestershire, in four eight-line stanzas headed After Harvest. The 1861 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern changed the wording of stanzas 2 and 3 and the sense of the last stanza. Alford objected. In his Poetical Works of 1865 he restored his own wording, except for two lines in stanza 3 that he revised at the request of the SPCK Tract Committee. He revised stanza 2 and the last stanza again in The Year of Praise in 1867, after he became Dean of Canterbury.
The tune is ST. GEORGE'S WINDSOR by George J. Elvey. He wrote it for James Montgomery's Hark! the Song of Jubilee, and Edward H. Thorne printed it in A Selection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes in 1858. It has gone with Alford's words since Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1861. The name comes from the chapel at Windsor where Elvey was organist for 47 years. Baptist Hymnal 1991 prints it in F major. Hymnary lists G major as the tune's own key.
Sources differ on the tune's date. Hymnary dates it 1856, and the earliest printing found is 1858.
Henry Alford
1810-10-07 to 1871-01-12
Henry Alford was born on October 7, 1810, in London, the son of the Rev. Henry Alford, rector of Aston Sandford. He graduated with honors from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1832 and was ordained in 1833. He served as vicar of Wymeswold from 1835 to 1853 and as Dean of Canterbury from 1857 until his death on January 12, 1871. His best-known scholarly work was an edition of the Greek Testament that took twenty years. His harvest hymn Come, Ye Thankful People, Come first appeared in his Psalms and Hymns in 1844.
George J. Elvey
1816 to 1893
George Job Elvey was born in Canterbury, England, in 1816 and sang as a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral. He studied with his brother Stephen, at Oxford and at the Royal Academy of Music. At nineteen he became organist and master of the choristers at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and he kept the post until he retired in 1882. He wrote music for royal ceremonies and was knighted after the wedding of Princess Louise in 1871. His tune DIADEMATA first appeared in the 1868 appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern and is sung with "Crown Him with Many Crowns." He died at Windlesham, Surrey, in 1893.
- Hymnology Archive: Come, ye thankful people, come , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org: ST. GEORGE'S WINDSOR (Elvey) , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org: Baptist Hymnal 1991, number 637 , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
The Bible passages behind the words.
- Psalm 100:4
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come videos
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Come, Ye Thankful People, Come (Tune: St George's Windsor - 4vv) [with lyrics for congregations] Chet Valley Hymns and Songs, Congregation
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Come, ye thankful people, come - Washington National Cathedral - Choir Creation & Hymn honathanblack, Congregation
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Come, Ye Thankful People, Come | The Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Choir
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Come, Ye Thankful People, Come (St. George's, Windsor) KingsCollegeChoir, Choir
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Come, Ye Thankful People, Come - piano instrumental hymn Kaleb Brasee, Piano
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Print and project
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in F or G.
Questions people ask
Who wrote Come, Ye Thankful People, Come?
Henry Alford wrote it, and it first appeared in his Psalms and Hymns in 1844. He later became Dean of Canterbury.
What is the origin of Come, Ye Thankful People, Come?
Alford wrote it as a harvest hymn and headed the 1844 text After Harvest. Editors changed his wording in 1861, and he restored it in 1865.
What tune goes with Come, Ye Thankful People, Come?
The tune is ST. GEORGE'S WINDSOR by George Elvey. It has gone with Alford's words since Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1861.
Is Come, Ye Thankful People, Come in the public domain?
Yes. The words are public domain in the United States, first published in 1844. The tune dates to the 1850s and is public domain as well.
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