What Human Tragedy Inspired Stuart Hamblen’s “This Old House”?

There’s no place like home. “Hearth and Home” is an American expression, but it’s a concept that transcends culture and is closely related to the song, “This Old House.”

Hearth & Home

The Greeks and Romans had their own version of the “hearth and home” motif. Since the gods were created in the image of man, they each appointed a special deity to watch over the family and help order and protect the household. For the Greeks it was Hestia and for the Romans it was Vestia. Accordingly, we find words like vespers (evening prayers) and Venus (evening star) in our modern lexicon. Vestia presided over anything related to the economy of the home or the well-being of the family.

But these pagan myths are really just shadows and vestiges of the Biblical emphasis on family. It all started with Adam and Eve in the garden when the first family materialized from the breath of God. Adam’s job was to protect the garden and Eve was given to help him till it and establish the home. As politically incorrect as that may seem, he was the “defender of the faith” and she was “the keeper at home.”

But Eve was no Victorian wallflower, and her descendants were not meant to be shrinking violets either. The last Chapter of the Book of Proverbs is famous for its depiction of “the Proverbs 31 woman.” This industrious female made frequent forays outside the home as a prosperous real estate investor. But she always returned to “home base” to care for her husband and children.

She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong. She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night.

All of this is wrapped up in the idea of “home.” That haven to which man retires for contentment and revitalization. This conjures images of wood burning stoves and families finding happiness together in the simple pleasures. We see it in countless colloquialisms and clichs:

* There’s no place like home

* Home is where you hang your hat

* Keep the home fires burning

* I’ll be home for Christmas

* Home is where you hang your hat

* Home sweet home

This Old House

One of the most nostalgic pieces of Americana on record comes to us from the early years of radio in Stuart Hamblen’s “This Old House.” It led the Hit Parade in 1954 with its down home rhythm and message. It was a perfect fit for female vocalist, Rosmary Clooney and she rode it to the top of the charts in both Britain and America that year. Shakin Stevens also produced his own version in England. Not many know that this lively song rose out of a somber story of human mortality.

Stuart Hamblen was a radio personality of the 1920′s who sang and acted with stars like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and John Wayne. The song was born in an old house that Hamblen and a friend stumbled across on a hunting trip. Inside they were shocked to discover the dead body of the homeowner. In a moment of inspiration Hamblen scribbled the song on his brown paper lunch bag. The melody came to him later in the week.

The deteriorating house is an analogy of the aging process in the human body and the approach of death. The tune is at the same time somber and upbeat, capturing both the elements of fear and of hope that animate the Christian as end of life approaches and heaven beckons.

Hamblen was singing out of his deep Christian faith in the words of Jesus at John 11: 23-26: Jesus said to her:

“Your brother shall rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

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