Jesus Loves Me
| "Jesus Loves Me" | |
| Written by | Anna B. Warner |
|---|---|
| Published | 1860 |
| Language | English |
| Form | Christian hymn |
Jesus Loves Me is a Christian hymn set to words by Anna Bartlett Warner.[1] The lyrics first appeared as a poem in the context of a novel called Say and Seal, written by Susan Warner and published in 1860. The tune was added in 1862 by William Batchelder Bradbury who found the text of "Jesus Loves Me" in this book, in which the words were spoken as a comforting poem to a dying child. Along with his tune, Bradbury added his own chorus "Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus Loves me..." After publication the song became one of the most popular Christian hymns in churches around the world.
Different stanzas, other than the first, often are substituted. The stanza about illness is usually omitted, to make the hymn less disturbing to children. The United Church of Canada hymnal attributes the second and fourth stanza, and the last two lines of the final stanza, to David Rutherford McGuire. Attribution of the third stanza is unknown. An external link at the end of this article points to the original version.
Contents |
[edit] Lyrics
- Jesus loves me! This I know,
- For the Bible tells me so.
- Little ones to Him belong;
- They are weak, but He is strong.
-
- Chorus:
-
- Yes, Jesus loves me!
- Yes, Jesus loves me!
- Yes, Jesus loves me!
- The Bible tells me so.
- Jesus loves me! This I know,
- As He loved so long ago,
- Taking children on His knee,
- Saying, “Let them come to Me.”
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- Chorus
- Jesus loves me when I'm good,
- When I do the things I should,
- Jesus loves me when I'm bad,
- Though it makes Him very sad.
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- Chorus
- Jesus loves me still today,
- Walking with me on my way,
- Wanting as a friend to give
- Light and love to all who live.
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- Chorus
- Jesus loves me! He who died
- Heaven’s gate to open wide;
- He will wash away my sin,
- Let His little child come in.
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- Chorus
- Jesus loves me! Loves me still
- Tho' I'm very weak and ill;
- That I might from sin be free
- Bled and died upon the tree.
-
- Chorus
- Jesus loves me! He will stay
- Close beside me all the way;
- Thou hast bled and died for me,
- I will henceforth live for Thee.
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- Chorus
John M. Frame's "The Doctrine of the Word of God" (2010; p. viii) cites a version with four verses: the above 1 and 5; followed by the following two verses (he attributes all of them to Anna B. Warner):
- Jesus loves me! Loves me still
- Though I'm very weak and ill;
- From his shining throne on high
- Comes to watch me where I lie.
- Jesus loves me! He will stay
- Close beside me all the way;
- If I love him, when I die
- He will take me home on high.
[edit] Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary Stanzas
Three stanzas appear along with the first verse in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, the hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. These four verses are the only verses of the hymn in this hymnal.
- Jesus loves me! See His grace!
- On the cross He took my place.
- There He suffered and He died,
- That I might be glorified.
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- Chorus
- Jesus loves me! God's own Son
- Over sin the vict'ry won.
- When I die, saved by His grace,
- I shall see Him face to face.
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- Chorus
- Jesus loves me! He is near.
- He is with His Church so dear.
- And the Spirit He has sent
- By His Word and Sacrament.
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- Chorus
[edit] Notable recordings
The song has been recorded by many different artists, such as:
- 1972: Ray Stevens Turn Your Radio On
- 1992: Whitney Houston The Bodyguard
- 1994: Shanice 21...Ways to Grow
- 1997: Brenda Lee Precious Memories
- 1998: Bob Carlisle Butterfly Kisses & Bedtime Prayers
- 2000: Rosemary Clooney Many a Wonderful Moment
- 2000: Aaron Neville Devotion
- 2001: Destiny's Child Survivor
- 2004: CocoRosie La Maison de Mon Rêve
- 2006: Alabama Songs of Inspiration
- 2008: Dionne Warwick Why We Sing
- 2008: Bobby Womack I Don't Know What The World Is Coming To
[edit] History
In 1943 in the Solomon Islands, John F. Kennedy's PT-109 was rammed and sunk. Islanders Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana who found Kennedy and the survivors remember that when they rode on PT boats to retrieve the survivors, the Marines sang this song with the natives, who had learned it from Seventh-day Adventist missionaries.[2][3]
This hymn was titled "China" in some hymnals of the 19th century,[4] and was the inspiration for the name of the town of China, Maine.
The song's first stanza can be occasionally heard in the survival horror first-person shooter, BioShock. When the main character is walking around a splicer that has not yet seen the player, they sometimes sing the first stanza of the song, along with phrases that imply their faith.[5]
An eerie, heavily distorted recording of the first stanza and the chorus is played over the credits of the Bible-inspired roguelike computer game The Binding of Isaac, after the full game has been completed ten times.[6]
On February 10, 2012, Whitney Houston and Kelly Price sang the song together. It was Houston's final performance before she died the next day in the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California.[7]
[edit] Notes
- ^ [1] Biography and hymns of Anna Bartlett Warner (1827-1915).
- ^ [2] Keene's Legend in the South Pacific
- ^ Time Pacific magazine [www.time.com/time/pacific/magazine] Time Pacific Aug 15, 2005
- ^ "Hymnals: Psalter Hymnal: 571". Calvin Hymnary Project. Calvin College. http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/PsH/571. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ^ Walk for the Lord - BioShock Interview Finally Arrived!
- ^ CVGM #11 - Jesus Loves Me - The Binding Of Isaac
- ^ http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/stop-the-presses/blood-sweat-dishevelment-whitney-houston-tumultuous-final-days-144148765.html
[edit] External links
- Volume two of Say and Seal including the poem in its original context
- Cyber Hymnal about the hymn
- Lead sheet, both pdf and Finale
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