Two writers, twelve verses, one tune: the story of “Crown Him with Many Crowns”
"Crown Him with Many Crowns", first published in 1851, has words by Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring and is sung to George Job Elvey's tune Diademata.…
Tag
hymn history
Forgotten in America, revived in London: the unusual journey of “To God Be the Glory”
"To God Be the Glory", with words by Fanny Crosby and music by William Howard Doane, was first published in 1875. Ira Sankey used it in…
Written after a drowning: the story of “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”
Louisa M. Stead wrote "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" in 1882, a few years after her husband drowned trying to save a boy in…
“Bread of heaven”: the Welsh journey of “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”
"Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" began as a Welsh hymn by William Williams Pantycelyn, the greatest Welsh hymn writer, and was translated into English by…
“Count your blessings, name them one by one”: Johnson Oatman’s 1897 hymn for discouraged people
"Count Your Blessings" was written in 1897 by Johnson Oatman Jr., with music by Edwin O. Excell. Written to encourage people facing trouble and discouragement, it…
“On Christ the solid rock I stand”: the cabinet-maker pastor behind “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”
Edward Mote, an English cabinet-maker who later became pastor of Rehoboth Baptist Church in Horsham, West Sussex, wrote "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" in…
Written to comfort two grieving husbands: the story of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”
"Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", published in 1887, began when music teacher Anthony J. Showalter received letters from two former pupils whose wives had died. Writing…
A young man’s testimony at a Moody meeting became a hymn: “Trust and Obey”
"Trust and Obey" was written in 1887 by John H. Sammis, with music by Daniel B. Towner. According to Towner's account, it was inspired by a…
A farmhand picking cotton hummed a secular song and thought of heaven: “I’ll Fly Away”
Albert E. Brumley wrote "I'll Fly Away" in 1929 while picking cotton on his family's farm in Oklahoma, reportedly humming a secular ballad about a prisoner…
Written for 500 schoolchildren in 1900, it became the Black national anthem: “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
James Weldon Johnson wrote "Lift Every Voice and Sing" in 1900 for schoolchildren in Jacksonville, Florida, to perform at a celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. His…