SONG & MUSIC WRITER: Henry Smith
WHEN WRITTEN: 1978
HYMN
HISTORY: This became one of worship leader Don Moen’s
most famous songs, however, it was not written by him. Following the introduction of the song
during a worship service at the Williamsburg New Testament Church in Virginia
in 1978, a military couple reintroduced it to a congregation in Germany.
The song eventually caught the attention of executives at Integrity Music. When
Integrity's Hosanna! Music copyrighted the song in 1986, the author was
unknown. After the Give Thanks album was released, the song
was brought to the attention of original writer Henry Smith, who contacted
Integrity with authorship information. Integrity later included songwriting
credits on all subsequent releases, along with a writer-publisher agreement. As
of 2010, the song has been recorded by over 50 companies and published in
songbooks around the world.
"Give Thanks" is one of Don Moen's
more recognizable songs, having been translated into various other languages,
including Russian, Afrikaans, and Swedish. As of August 2011, the song is one
of the Top 100 CCLI Songs reported
by SongSelect, which provides online access of worship song lyrics, sound
samples and download of lead sheets, chord sheets, and SATB hymn sheets. It is
listed as the #1 top Songs With The Greatest Gain. The song also been
included in 11 known hymn books.
BIBLE VERSE: The phrase
“give thanks” is used 59 times in the KJV of the Bible.
2 Thessalonians
2:13 – “But we should always give
thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the
Lord, because God has chosen you
from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith
in the truth.”
HYMN LYRICS:
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son
And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son
And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
Give Thanks!
(REPEAT)
The electronic pop group, Pet Shop Boys blatantly copied the melody from this song for their hit, "Go West" in their 1993 album, Very.
ReplyDeleteThere is no attribution to Smith or Integrity Music in the album notes. Surprisingly, when reading about clear plagerism in popular music, I've never heard anyone link these two songs.
Dude, exactly! Just recognized that tonight!
DeleteI hate to tell you, but the basic tune with its unique chord progression is the same as the Hymn of the Soviet Union, which was introduced in 1944. The music was written by Alexander Alexandrov (1883–1946) so unless Alexandrov got the tune from some other source, it appears that neither Harry Smith nor Victor Willis of The Village People created it from scratch.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Sovjet-Anthem itself was basicality taken from Johan Pachelbel - Canon in D
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mxpIH-OWMI
Thanks Les! Very informative!
ReplyDeleteThanks Les! Very informative!
ReplyDeleteShould have read your comment first. Thanks!
Delete