What a Friend We Have in Jesus
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus" is a Christian hymn originally written by preacher Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855 to comfort his mother, who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada.[2] Scriven originally published the poem anonymously, and only received full credit for it in the 1880s.[3] The tune to the hymn was composed by Charles Crozat Converse in 1868.
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
lyrics published 1865 by H. L. Hastings
lyrics with tune published 1870 by Oliver Ditson & Co.[1]
Charles C. Converse (1868)
Joseph M. Scriven (1855)
The hymn also has many versions with different lyrics in multiple languages. The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal notes, "In spite of the fact that this hymn, with its tune, has been criticized as being too much on the order of the sentimental gospel type, its popularity remains strong, and the hymn retains a place in modern hymnals."[4] In some settings, the lyrics have been matched to other tunes such as the Welsh "Calon Lân" (originally wedded to the Welsh poem translated as "A Pure Heart").
Parodies and homages[edit]
Parody versions have included the First World War soldiers' song "When this lousy war is over",[14] the IWW song "Dump the Bosses off your Back",[15] and the Pete Seeger anti-war song "What a Friend We Have in Congress".[16]
This tune is used as a tune for an Indonesian patriotic song called "Ibu Pertiwi" which was composed in 1908 by Kamsidi Samsuddin.
Alan Price used the tune for his song "Changes" in the 1973 film O Lucky Man!, which was reused in a Volkswagen commercial of the same name with Paula Hamilton in the 1980s. In 1989, the song reached number 54 on the UK charts and number 29 on the German charts. In 2013, Hugh Laurie covered the song on his album Didn't It Rain.