I Need Thee Every Hour

Annie S. Hawks; refrain Robert Lowry · 1872 · tune NEED
Key of G · public domain

Open in XA Hymns Read John 15:5

Words

Verse 1I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford

RefrainI need Thee, O I need Thee
Every hour I need Thee
O bless me now, my Saviour
I come to Thee

Verse 2I need Thee every hour, stay Thou near by
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh

Verse 3I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain

Verse 4I need Thee every hour, most Holy One
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son

The story

Annie Sherwood Hawks was a wife and mother in Brooklyn, thirty-seven years old, and she wrote this in 1872 in the middle of a perfectly ordinary day. She said later that she was busy with household work, felt a sudden sense of nearness to God, and wondered how anyone got through joy or pain without Him. Robert Lowry, who had been her pastor at Hanson Place until he left in 1869, added the refrain and the tune. What she also said, years afterward, is that she did not fully understand her own hymn until her husband died in 1888 and she had to sing it out of grief rather than out of a good morning. That is unusual honesty about one's own work.

Chords in G

Verse 1 G C G D I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord G C D G No tender voice like Thine can peace afford Refrain G C G I need Thee, O I need Thee G D G Every hour I need Thee C G D O bless me now, my Saviour G D G I come to Thee Verse 2 G C G D I need Thee every hour, stay Thou near by G C D G Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh Verse 3 G C G D I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain G C D G Come quickly and abide, or life is vain Verse 4 G C G D I need Thee every hour, most Holy One G C D G O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son

In the app you can move this to any key and it works out the capo for you.

Common questions

Who wrote I Need Thee Every Hour? Annie S. Hawks; refrain Robert Lowry wrote the words in 1872.

What tune is it sung to? NEED, set here in the key of G.

What scripture is it built on? John 15:5.

Is I Need Thee Every Hour free to use in church? Yes. The words are public domain, which means any church may sing them, print them in a bulletin, put them on a screen or record them, without asking permission and without paying anyone.

Themes

Dependence · Prayer · Daily Life

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