Hymn Story: My soul, there is a country
My Soul, There is a Country was written by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry. He was the 1st Baronet and an English composer, teacher and historian of music. He was born February 27, 1848. He…
Christmas Hymn: Sussex Carol
The “Sussex Carol” is a popular Christmas Carol in Britain. Luke Wadding, a 17th Century Irish Bishop, first published the song in 1684. It is unknown whether he wrote the song himself or had recorded…
Christmas Song: The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy
I have found two different stories for this hymn. The first states it is believed “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” was written Jamaican singer-songwriter Oswald Dunbar sometime in the early 1960s. Legend states…
Christmas Hymn Story: In the Bleak Mid-Winter
English poet Christina Rosetti published a poem under the title “A Christmas Carol” in January 1872 issue of Scribner’s Monthly. Composer Gustav Holst composed a setting to her words in 1906. The new hymn appeared…
Hymn Story: God Be With You Till We Meet Again
God Be with You till We meet Again was written by Jeremiah E. Rankin around 1880. It is undated but he gave a copy to Sankey in 1882. Rankin was born on January 2, 1828…
Hymn Story: I Vow to Thee My Country
“I Vow to Thee, My Country” is a British patriotic hymn. Sir Cecil Spring Rice wrote the poem “The City of God” or “The Two Fatherlands” in either 1908 or 1912. The poem described how…
Song Story: Sleep, Dearie, Sleep
Sleep, Dearie, Sleep was played at the end of Queen Elizabeth II funeral at Westminster Abbey. Her bagpiper played this beautiful lament. I’ve been unable to find any additional information about who wrote the song.
Hymn Story: The Lords My Shepherd
The Lord’s My Shepherd is a hymn based on Psalm 23. It first appeared in the Scots Metrical Psalter in 1650 and is usually attributed to the English Puritan Francis Rous. The tune Crimond is…
Hymn Story: The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended
This hymn was recently sung at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Rev. John Ellerton wrote the hymn in 1870 to be included in A Liturgy for Missionary Meetings. Two different translations of the text…
Hymn Story: O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High
O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High was written by Thomas A Kempis. His father was a peasant, whilst his mother kept a dame’s school for the younger children of Kempen. At the age…
Hymn Story: At the Name of Jesus
At the Name of Jesus reminds us that one day every knee will bow and tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The song was written by Caroline Marie Noel. She was born in…
Song Story: Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)
With today being the twenty-first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks I wanted to find a song about the event. Alan Jackson wrote Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning) about those tragic…
Hymn Story: They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love
They’ll Know We Are Christians is a short chorus which reminds us to show God’s love. Father Peter Scholtes was inspired in the 1960s by John 13:35. He wrote the song for an ecumenical event.…
Hymn Story: A Broken Heart, My God, My Life
Recently we sung A Broken Heart, My God, My Life in church. A hymn I had not heard before and wanted to learn more about. A Broken Heart, My God, My Life was written by…
Hymn Story: He Will Hold Me Fast
He will Hold Me Fast was written by Ada Ruth Habershon best known for the song “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”. She was born in 1861 in Marylebone, England. She first began writing hymns in…
Hymn Story: Come, come to Jesus, do not keep him waiting
Come, come to Jesus, do not keep him waiting was written by Elisha Hoffman. He sought to create songs for congregational worship. He said “a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to…
Hymn Story: Shall I Come Just As I Am
Shall I Come Just As I Am is a hymn written by Elisha A. Hoffman. Hoffman was born in 1839 and ordained into the ministry in 1868. He served numerous churches and wrote over 2,000…
Hymn Story: Come Just As You Are
Come Just As You Are is a song released by Crystal Lewis in 1995. No other information seems to be available.
Hymn Story: Wholly Yours
Wholly Yours is written by David Crowder. It shares the message found in Romans 8:39 “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of…
Hymn Story: The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came
The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came was written by Sabine Baring-Gould. He was born in 1834 in England and became a priest. He wrote and translated many hymns. He died in 1924. Edgar Pettman and…