Classic Christian Hymn’s, will we ever stop singing them?

When growing up, this was one of the songs I heard a lot, in Dutch. The original version, in English, is also a beautiful song of comfort for those who feel alone, are worried or in need for some emotional support. If friends forsake you, there’s always that one Friend you can rely on: Jesus.

I’ve been playing in Worship bands, in Church and Bible groups, for many years. Playing this song always moved people in the congregation. That’s what I like about it so much: simple words that touch people’s heart.

I’m sorry to say I dislike most modern “worship” songs. Most of them are very standard: repeat line after line all the time, same melody all over and based on popular structure we see in most popsongs (Verse -Chorus -Verse – Chorus – Bridge -Chorus) where there’s a lot of repeating in the verses as well as in the chorus of course. From a songwriters point of view this is not very creative songwriting at all. It tries to play with peoples emotions, build up to a certain point (emotional). Feel good songs, no “depth” in the lyrics at all, all along standard patterns as far as the music is concerned. Same popular chords all the time… (and I know, since I’ve been playing them over and over again for years at worship!). So, anyway — I prefer the older hymns. They have a simple structure too, agreed. But, the words, the lyrics, have -in most cases- so much more spiritual depth! So I hope we will never stop singing these songs since they give us so much comfort, relief, hope and.. they talk about the Good Lord in a way modern worship songs can not and will not do!

When recording this song I opted for a slightly faster version as is used in most congregations. This is how I was used to play it in the worship bands – more like an up-tempo “country” song.

The song is available for free at SoundCloud. I’ve also re-recorded the vocals for another gospelsong, “Day By Day”, that I posted earlier. I also remixed it a little. It’s also availble for free at SoundCloud.

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

DAY BY DAY (BLOTT EN DAG)
Wikipedia – “Day by Day, is a Christian hymn written in 1865 by Lina Sandell several years after she had witnessed the tragic drowning death of her father. It is a hymn of assurance used in American congregational singin”.

A song lesser known in Europe, even though it was written by a Swedish songwriter. It is popular in the USA and I happen to like it a lot. I’ve made it slightly more up-tempo. What I like most about this song is that it’s got a less common melody as most hymn’s have.

Over the years I’ve recorded several more classic gospels and hymn’s.
You can find them at this play-list on SoundCloud.