Today’s post was written by Paul.
One of our dear Acorns requested that Granny and I sing “Treasures Unseen.” It’s an excellent song, full of truth and sweet sincerity.
When I was little, Pap and Granny would sometimes sing it. You can hear them at this link.
I think Granny did a great job on the harmony, both with me and with Pap, especially on the chorus. In my youth, I also occasionally heard other folks sing this song as a solo at various churches as we traveled around making music.
Every singer that I ever saw sing it, young or old, seemed to have great personal identification with the words as they sang, sometimes singing through tears. It was like they felt every word of the song and found comfort in embracing what the song was saying, what it was promising to them and to the listeners.
I didn’t know much about the song’s history. In preparation for this upload, I did a little searching online. According to Hymnary.org, it was written by Ann Ballard and published in 1977.
Growing up in the mountains, it often seemed like it took songs, movies, etc. a while to make it to our neck of the woods, so finding out that the song was first released in 1977 doesn’t surprise me. It seemed like the folks singing the song when I was little (including Pap and Granny) thought of the song as a new song (in the early 1980’s).
Hymnary.org had no biographical information about Ann Ballard, but I found an interview with her on YouTube, conducted by a gentleman named Larz Roberts. If you enjoy the interview, please leave a like and comment on Mr. Roberts’ channel.
Through the interview, I learned that Mrs. Ballard sang with a gospel group called The Monarchs. She was 85 at the time of the interview in 2021, so that makes her about 4 years older than Granny.
It seems that “Treasures Unseen” was published in only one hymnal, but it was included in several recent song collections and performed by several modern groups, such as Greater Vision.
The Monarchs was a family group that included at least two generations. I have never heard their recording of “Treasures Unseen,” nor any other music from them. If I can find their recordings, I’m sure Granny will also be interested in hearing them. She may remember hearing them back in the day. Alternatively, it may be that she never heard them and that Pap picked up the song in some singing that he attended, brought the song back, and taught it to Granny. If that’s the case, it’s understandable why he sang several lines or phrases somewhat differently than the official/original lyrics that can be found online.
In the interview, Mrs. Ballard said that her group eventually chose to write all of their material, which is something I greatly admire, something very hard to do while still holding the attention of audiences.
Thanks for watching!
Paul
Original singles released on Spotify.
Shepherd of My Soul (Album released in 2016).
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That was so precious!!! Treasures indeed !!! True treasures !!!
That was so beautiful and might be one of my favorite y’all have sang. So touching!
Thank you for the song. Back in the day i sang in a trio and Treasures Unseen was a favorite song of ours to sing.
I watched Mr.Rogers interview with Ms. Ballard. Such a lovely lady. I never knew anything about the brown songbook. I’ll have to research that one because I thought I’d seen them all. Enjoyed the post!
I never heard that song before. It was beautiful, and very well done! Granny is a perfectionist, I see!
Maybe it is not exactly unseen treasures, but my father in law would often sing this song at our church “ Thank You God For Your Blessings On Me.” That might not be the correct title.
Like Ed said in his comment, God has been mighty good to me with his blessings or unseen treasures. Tipper and the members of the BP&A are one of them. I appreciate all of you putting up with me. I always think of my family and my wife’s family and many friends as blessings. Today is my Granddaddy Kirby’s birthday born in 1888, many others have had good grandparents, but none have had any better.
This was really nice. TY
just love it thanks you lovely people for it great song way to go keep it up
Hi, Paul…what a wonderful video of you and your sweet mother! I kept listening and watching and I felt such an intense wish I could hug your mom! She has the sweetest voice and comes across as a warm, loving woman. I wish I had her in my family! What a treasure you and your family will have when Granny passes to her new home. You will never be without either of your parents, you just make some popcorn and sit back and watch one video after another! You are all truly blessed and reaching out to all of your fans I think is a God send! May you all have a wonderful day!
Beautiful song, beautiful lyrics and great harmony! Thoroughly enjoyed it! Granny has such a beautiful voice, and she and Paul harmonize so well together. My kind of music. Thanks so much for sharing!
Ed, a quick message. According to a Greenville News article, Sugar Tit was named because of this. At one time a lot of sorghum cane was grown there, the mothers would give their babies the cane to suck on instead of a sugar rag. The men liked to hang out at the community country store. Their wives would send their children to get their husbands and would often ask the question “why do they like hanging out at the store, do they have a sugar tit up there?” The store owner put a sign up calling his store the Sugar Tit store. The community has went by that name ever since he did that.
Sorghum cane is only sweet for a season. Babies have to be pacified all year long. Maybe husbands too.
A beautiful picture to open this post. It looks like a misty early morning sunrise in the fall. It makes me wonder what unseen treasures the Lord has for each of us as we start each new day. May we be looking. Blessings to you & Granny and all the family.
I love when Granny sings with you Paul. I love all the old hymns too. Thank you for sharing.
Very nice post Paul. Two of my favorite songs are “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art.” I have used both in my last job as an addictions counselor. I would tell my client either at the Florida Center or the jails I visited that God’s grace was there for them no matter what they had done.
And as a deacon walking into church with the other deacons singing “How Great…” I would break into tears because it hits me how truly great He is.
Love listening to you play and sing the old songs either by yourself or with Granny. Your music is a blessing.
God has given me many treasures unseen and you are one of them Tipper!
Ed, you are very kind! Thank you 🙂
Paul,
You and Granny did a beautiful job with this song. I have never heard it before and I just loved it. Granny is the dearest, sweetest lady and such a treasure herself—and you can just tell what a kind and loving son you are to her. I really enjoyed hearing her and Pap singing it too. Thank you both.
Thank you for posting Paul. you and Granny sounded so lovely!
That is a beautiful song to start this beautiful morning. I have never heard that before but, like Sadie above, it reminded me of the Kris Kristofferson song, Why Me. Granny has such a beautiful voice & y’all sing so well together. Thank you for taking the time to sit down with her & record all these precious memories.
That was lovely. I’ve never heard of this song before. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I enjoyed that very much! ♥️ Nothing greater than those “unseen treasures.” Have a great Sunday.
That surely was a beautiful song and ain’t it the truth about treasures unseen! It seems it has a sound like another song and it goes “tell me why Lord what have I ever done to deserve even one of the treasures…” I cannot recall the song or words, but it’s beautiful too…you and your mother sang so beautifully together and it really got my Sunday morning off on the right start in Jesus Holy Name!!! God bless you all! Give me a tent or tree trunk or a shotgun shack, but for the love of all things Holy, just give me peace and peace of mind in the Lord… really, what else do we have to depend on? I can answer NOTHING in this life is dependable…make your calling and election certain…
What a beautiful song and a wonderful performance by you and Granny, Paul. Both of you have made my morning. We can have all the world has to offer and if we do not have the the love of God in our hearts and have not accepted him, we have nothing. The world may tempt us with all its so-called treasures, but unless we have God’s hidden treasures, we have nothing. God bless both of you is my prayer.
I have never heard this song before, but I think the words are so true for many of us. Something different, late yesterday, I got word that one of my lifelong friend’s wife had died. She found out at the first of the year she had stage 4 cancer. They were married 50 years and started dating while in high school, just like with me and my wife. He talked with me about my wife just a few days before finding out about his wife. I know so well what the rest of his life will be like. His name is John Davis (Johnny) and her name was Anne Davis. Please pray for him and the rest of their family.