Sunset from the southern flank of Mt Kephart, near Icewater Springs

The hymn Nearer My God To Thee was written by Sarah Flower Adams (1805-1848). Adams was a British actress and poet. According to the website Share Faith, Adams wrote the song after leaving the theater due to health issues. The site also details the inspiration for the song: “A pastor from the Unitarian church was visiting with Adams’ family one afternoon. He mentioned that he was having difficulty finding a hymn that represented his next week’s sermon, taken from on Genesis 28:11-19 (The story of Jacob’s dream). Sarah volunteered to write a hymn for the occasion. Within the week, Nearer My God to Thee was born.”

I grew up hearing and singing Nearer My God To Thee. I love the language used in old hymns. The lovely lyrics of praise always make me want to add words like beckon, thee, shall, and thou to my daily conversations.

I hope you liked the song. I especially like Paul’s chiming guitar. As always-Pap and Paul’s harmony is like a lullaby.

Tipper

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28 Comments

  1. This arrangement is simply wonderful, different than I’ve heard before and it draws in the listener – right to the heart. Wow. Thank you.

  2. This is just wonderful, they have such good harmony, I will keep this post,and play every day. Thank you very much for sharing this. Kay

    1. Well done song love to hear paps tenor voice. Nearer my GOD to thee shouldn’t we all want this in our lives. Sometimes our struggles in life we tend to drift away. This song brings great peace and comfort to me

    1. Well done song love to hear paps tenor voice. Nearer my GOD to thee shouldn’t we all want this in our lives. Sometimes our struggles in life we tend to drift away. This song brings great peace and comfort to me.

  3. tipper this is so beautiful.. sounds like angels right there in your home 🙂 as always many hugs and blessings to you all…
    and btw those beans look delicious..
    🙂
    xox
    lynn

  4. I’m very partial to the old gospel tunes and find them soothing. As usual, Paul & Pap own it!!!!

  5. There’s a lot of theology taught by the older hymns. We don’t get much of that from the ‘praise’ songs. I usually refer to them as 7 11 music. You find 7 words and sing them 11 times. Our church has a blend on Sunday morning. Once in a while we will devote Sunday evening to hymn singing with congregants calling out their favorite. When I go home after one of those evenings I feel like I have been to worship.

  6. Tipper,
    I like it when both guys get to
    lead, kinda like the Louvin Bros.
    Pap plays rhythm so natural and
    he’s always relaxed. It’s hard to
    beat the old timey songs of faith.
    …Ken

  7. Just great as always .love their singing and playing .
    It brings back memories when my dad and bros. and friends would get together and play and sing.
    Who is the young man ? I new to your web site so I don’t know everyone yet.
    Tell them to keep singing and playing. They sure bless me.

  8. How beautiful. Thank you. My sister, Charline and I just experienced our precious mother’s passing in May, to heaven and that makes heaven even more sweeter and this hymn is a blessing and sung so beautifully,

  9. I agree that their harmony is just like a lullaby. That song will be playing in my head all day, helping me to feel Nearer My God To Thee on this beautiful Sunday.

  10. A lovely version. It inspires memories of my sister and I snuggling in with our grandparents and great-grandparents while our parents sang in the church choir.
    That memory also saddens me since so many churches now discourage small ones in the sanctuary during worship. So far, our church encourages children to be present during worship and for that I am greatful. Nearer to family and nearer to God.

  11. The words, melody, and Pap and Paul’s singing are all simply lovely – thanks for your Sunday morning hymns, Tipper.
    This takes me back over half a century to a summer Sunday morning, a little congregation singing the old tunes from dark crimson-backed hymnals, hand fans made from church bulletins, swatting at wasps flying in through the propped-open stained glass windows (there is an art to the discrete swatting of wasps, by the way), with thoughts of eternity being informed by both the preaching and a young’uns stomach growling in contemplation of his Mama’s drumsticks, fresh tomatoes, fried okra, green beans seasoned with streaked meat, and corn on the cob – all eaten on the screened back porch – followed by a slice of watermelon under the oak tree.

  12. One of my favorites—you and yours are keeping camp meeting alive for me since we have not had in these past few years since dad fell and no one wants to do all the work that one needs to do to keep it up and running.

  13. That has to be in the top 5 favorites of mine, that they do, kinda puts a lump in your throat,, if you know what I mean.. I remember this song as a child,, but for some reason we don’t sing it anymore at Church..

  14. Thank you. I love this song and your family singing it just got my Sunday started in a good way.

  15. I remember hearing one of my great uncles singing this song as he worked around my grandparents’ farm in Sourhern Greenville Co. He said they sang it in the trenches during World War I.

  16. Tipper: Such a beautiful way to start a SUNDAY MORNING! How many times did I hear my Mother sing this song as she prepared another meal for her ELEVEN children? I suppose the comfort she found in these words got her through her 95 years of living and working hard for her family!
    Love and Devotion,
    Eva Nell

  17. I love this hymn, in fact most all the older gospel music. My very favorite is Amazing Grace. I could listen to that one all the time.

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