Shall Simon bear the cross alone?

The linked post is not strictly about music or hymns, but is related. It is some thoughts that grew out of a biblical text and some research on a hymn. We often sing "Must Jesus bear the cross alone, And all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for everyone, And there’s a cross for me" and credit it to Thomas Shepherd. But Shepherd was thinking of something else, "Shall Simon bear the cross alone?"

Perhaps someone will find this interesting and beneficial.