Penny for your Thoughts by: Nancy Whitaker
I still go around the community playing different genres of music on the piano. After playing some country, polkas, waltzes and gospel, I go into an old old song.
Faces get smiles and everyone starts singing along. Everyone knows this song. The familiar hymn is “Jesus Loves me.” Listen to the words and think back to Sunday School time.
The song Jesus Loves Me came about in a poem in a novel written in 1860 by Susan Warner called Say and Seal. Her sister, Anne, wrote the lyrics of the song from the poem..
In the novel a school teacher reads the poem to a dying boy.
In 1862, William Bradbury put the tune and music to it and wrote the chorus. The song also was published in some hymnals and missionaries sang Jesus Loves Me in the countries they ministered to.
In fact, in 1943, John Kennedys PT 109 was struck by the enemy. The ship was split in half and some of the men survived. Kennedy and his men were stranded many days on an island. They were finally rescued by 2 natives. One of the rescued men on the way to safety, put his arm around the two natives and started to sing a hymn.
The natives had heard the song from missionaries and sang along.
The song: Jesus Loves Me:
“Jesus Loves me
“This I know
“Cause the Bible tells me so
“Little ones to Him belong
“They are weak but He is strong”
This song is known in many countries and sung and written in many languages.
I bet everyone remembers this song and probably sang it a long time ago. Do you still sing it? Doesn’t this little song cheer your heart? If you sing Jesus Loves me Let me know and I’ll give you A Penny for Your Thoughts.
