"Jesus Loves Me" is a

Christian hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

written by

Anna Bartlett Warner Anna Bartlett Warner (August 31, 1827 – January 22, 1915) was an American writer, the author of several books, and of poems set to music as hymns and religious songs for children. She is best known for writing the hymn " Jesus Loves Me". Biogr ...

(1827–1915). The lyrics first appeared as a poem in the context of an 1860 novel called ''Say and Seal'', written by her older sister

Susan Warner Susan Bogert Warner (pen name, Elizabeth Wetherell; July 11, 1819 – March 17, 1885) was an American Presbyterianism, Presbyterian writer of religious fiction, children's fiction, and theological works. She is best remembered for her massive bes ...

(1819–1885), in which the words were spoken as a comforting poem to a dying child. The tune was added in 1862 by

William Batchelder Bradbury William Batchelder Bradbury (October 6, 1816 – January 7, 1868) was a musician who composed the tune to " Jesus Loves Me" and many other popular hymns. Biography He was born on October 6, 1816, in York, Maine, where his father was the leader o ...

(1816–1868). Along with his tune, Bradbury added his own chorus "Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus Loves me..." After publication as a song it became a popular hymn in English-language churches.

Poem by Anna Bartlett Warner

As originally published in 1860, it appeared in four stanzas, as follows:

Hymn by William Batchelder Bradbury

''Bradbury's Golden Shower of S.S. Melodies: a new collection of hymns and tunes for the Sabbath school'', edited by Wm. B. Bradbury, New York, 1862:

History

In 1943 in the

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John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

PT-109 ''PT-109'' was an Elco PT boat (patrol torpedo boat) last commanded by Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy, future United States president, in the Solomon Islands campaign of the Pacific theater during World War II. Kennedy's act ...

was rammed and sunk. Islanders

Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana Biuku Gasa (27 July 1923 – 23 November 2005) and Eroni Kumana (c. 1918 – 2 August 2014) were Solomon Islands, Solomon Islanders of Melanesians, Melanesian descent who found John F. Kennedy and his surviving Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109, ''PT-109 ...

who found Kennedy and the survivors remember that when they rode on PT boats to retrieve the survivors, the Marines sang this song with the natives, who had learned it from

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

missionaries. This hymn was titled "China" in some hymnals of the 19th century. Some early hymnals, such as ''The Modern Hymnal'' (1926) explain this title with a subtitled note that says, "The favorite Hymn of China". By the time of later hymnals such as the Baptist Hymnal (1956), the subtitle had been dropped and the tune was simply called "CHINA".

Revised versions

The poem and the hymn, or portions of them, have sometimes been revised. Some examples of this are *The book ''Jack Bauer's Having a Bad Day'' presented a version which alternated ''Yes, Jesus Loves Me'' with ''... Loves Us'' and ''Loves You''. *A message presented in the book ''Good Morning Message'' builds on the line refrain as follows: "Yes, Jesus loves me ... Yes, Jesus loves you ... allow Him to help you through your day, every day. ..." *The inspirational book ''From Chains to Change'' presented a version in which the line "Little ones to Him belong" was rendered as "Little ones to Him below".

Notable performances

The song has been recorded by a large number of different artists, either obscure or famous. Some versions include the following: *1972:

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on ''Turn Your Radio On'' *1980: John Fahey on '' Yes! Jesus Loves Me'' *1975:

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack ( ; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's ...

on ''I Don't Know What the World Is Coming To'' *1991: Jim Eanes and Bobby Atkins on ''Heart of the South'' *1992:

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

on '' The Bodyguard'' soundtrack *1994:

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on ''21...Ways to Grow'' *1997:

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on ''Precious Memories'' *1998:

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on ''Butterfly Kisses & Bedtime Prayers'' *2000:

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on ''Many a Wonderful Moment'' *2000:

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on ''Devotion'' *2001:

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on ''

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'' *2004: CocoRosie on ''La Maison de Mon Rêve'' (a parody denouncing American Christianity) *2006:

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on ''Songs of Inspiration'' *2008:

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on ''Why We Sing'' *2012: Whitney Houston and

Kelly Price Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. Beginning her career in 1992, Price originally performed backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including Carey's ''Billboard'' Hot 100-number one sin ...

; Houston's last performance in an impromptu duet at a nightclub *2022:

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

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on ''

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'', the first album by a college marching band to win a Grammy

Notes