Ethan Walker
What Wondrous Love Is This is a Christian folk hymn from the American South. The text was first published in 1811, during the Second Great Awakening, and its melody is derived from a popular English ballad. The hymn meditates on Christ's wonderful love and the salvation it brings, with the singer pledging to sing to God and the Lamb in eternity along with millions of others. The text is attributed to an anonymous author, though some sources have speculated on potential writers. The hymn has been included in various hymnals and set to music by composers, and it remains a widely known and beloved piece in many Christian denominations.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of First Publication | 1811 |
| Genre | Christian folk hymn |
| Melody | Derived from a popular English ballad, "The Ballad of Captain Kidd" |
| Melody Origin Date | Predates 1701 |
| Text Author | Anonymous |
| Liturgical Use | Lent; Stanzas 1-3 for services of confession/forgiveness; funeral services (entire hymn); stanza 2 with preaching about Jonah; stanza 3 as a doxology |
| Scripture References | All stanzas = Rev. 5 |
| Secular Versions | Lyrics replaced with secular words by Secretary Michael; Versions by Blue Highway, Folk Singer Melanie Safka |
| Inclusivity | Included in hymnals of many Christian denominations |
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The origins of the hymn
"What Wondrous Love Is This" is a Christian folk hymn from the American South. The text was first published in 1811 during the Second Great Awakening, a period of religious revival in the United States. The hymn's melody is believed to be derived from an old English ballad, specifically "The Ballad of Captain Kidd" from 1701, which described the exploits of pirate William Kidd. The melody itself may predate the ballad by over a century, and it was a popular tune in the early 1800s.
During the Second Great Awakening, hymnals often lacked musical notation, and it is believed that the attendees of camp meetings during this time would sing the hymns to popular melodies they knew, including "The Ballad of Captain Kidd". This is likely how the text and melody of "What Wondrous Love Is This" came to be paired. The text and melody were first published together in the 1840 edition of "The Southern Harmony", a book of shape-note hymns compiled by William Walker. The publication of the hymn in B.F. White's "The Sacred Harp" in 1844 further promoted the combination of the text and tune.
The text of the hymn is addressed to the soul and meditates on Christ's wonderful love and the salvation it brings. The hymn expresses wonder at Christ's sacrifice and the freedom it brings from the fear of death. The lyrics have been attributed to various writers but remain anonymous. The hymn was first published in two different hymnals in 1811: Stith Mead's hymnal for Methodists, "A General Selection of the Newest and Most Admired Hymns and Spiritual Songs", and Starke Dupuy's hymnal for Baptists, "Hymns and Spiritual Songs". The lyrics may have also been printed in a slightly different form in another book published in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1811.
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The melody
"What Wondrous Love Is This" is a Christian folk hymn from the American South. The text was first published in 1811, during the Second Great Awakening, and the melody is derived from a popular English ballad, "The Ballad of Captain Kidd" (Roud number 5089). The hymn's lyrics were likely first paired with this melody by camp meeting attendees during the Second Great Awakening, as hymnals at the time often lacked musical notation.
Over time, this same melody was adopted by numerous other songs. At least a dozen popular tunes were set to the same melody after 1701, demonstrating its widespread appeal and versatility. However, it was the combination of this haunting melody with the poignant lyrics of "What Wondrous Love Is This" that truly cemented its place in musical and religious history.
The text and melody of "What Wondrous Love Is This" were first published together in 1840 in the appendix of "The Southern Harmony," a collection of shape-note hymns compiled by William Walker. This publication played a significant role in promoting the pairing of the text and melody, ensuring their enduring legacy in Christian hymnals across many denominations.
The hymn is typically sung in Dorian mode, lending it a distinctive and haunting quality. While some early hymnals notated the song incorrectly in Aeolian mode (natural minor), congregations often intuitively sang it in Dorian mode, spontaneously raising the sixth note. This intuitive adjustment by singers reflects the emotional and expressive nature of the hymn.
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The lyrics
"What Wondrous Love Is This" is a Christian folk hymn from the American South. Its lyrics were first published in 1811, during the Second Great Awakening, and its melody is derived from a popular English ballad, "The Ballad of Captain Kidd", which dates back to 1701. The hymn is a meditation on Christ's wonderful love and the salvation it brings.
> What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul?
> What wondrous love is this, O my soul?
> What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
> To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
> To bear the dreadful curse for my soul?
> When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
> When I was sinking down, O my soul!
> When I was sinking down beneath God's righteous frown,
> Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
> Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.
> To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing;
> To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
> To God and to the Lamb who is the great "I AM,"
> While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
> While millions join the theme, I will sing.
The hymn concludes with an uplifting stanza that reflects on freedom from the fear of death and the eternal praise that rises in response to God's love:
> And when from death I'm free, I'll sing and joyful be,
> And through eternity, I'll sing on.
The author of "What Wondrous Love Is This" remains anonymous, but the hymn has been widely adopted by various Christian denominations and has also inspired several musical compositions and interpretations by folk singers and orchestras.
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The meaning
"What Wondrous Love Is This" is a Christian folk hymn from the American South. Its text was first published in 1811 during the Second Great Awakening, a period of religious revival in the United States. The hymn is a meditation on the wonderful love of Christ, which brought about our salvation.
The lyrics of the hymn are addressed to the soul, asking it to reflect on the wondrous love that caused the "Lord of bliss" to take on a "dreadful curse" for our sake. This love is so profound that it frees us from the fear of death and fills us with eternal gratitude and praise.
The hymn has three stanzas, each exploring a different aspect of this wondrous love:
- The first stanza focuses on the sacrifice made by Christ, who bore the curse for our souls.
- The second stanza describes the speaker's state of despair and how Christ's love rescued them from it. It mentions Christ laying aside his crown, a symbol of his humility and self-sacrifice.
- The third stanza is a declaration of praise and worship to God and the Lamb, with the singer committing to sing their praises eternally.
The text of "What Wondrous Love Is This" has been set to various tunes over the years, with the most common melody derived from the 1701 English song "The Ballad of Captain Kidd." The pairing of this text and melody likely occurred during the Second Great Awakening when hymns were often sung to popular melodies. The hymn has been included in hymnals of many Christian denominations and has also inspired various musical compositions, secular interpretations, and recordings.
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Interpretations and covers
"What Wondrous Love Is This" is a Christian folk hymn from the American South. Its text was first published in 1811 during the Second Great Awakening, and its melody is derived from a popular English ballad, "The Ballad of Captain Kidd", which dates back to 1701. The hymn is a meditation on Christ's wonderful love and the salvation it brings, with the soul as its addressee.
The hymn has been included in hymnals of various Christian denominations and has also found its way into secular culture. While the original text is anonymous, the melody is typically attributed to the aforementioned English ballad. The pairing of the text and melody may have occurred during the Second Great Awakening, when hymnals often lacked musical notation, and campers sang the hymns to popular melodies of the time, such as "The Ballad of Captain Kidd".
The first known pairing of the text and melody in print was in the 1840 edition of "The Southern Harmony", a collection of shape-note hymns compiled by William Walker. This publication further solidified the association between the text and its now-familiar tune.
Over the years, "What Wondrous Love Is This" has been reinterpreted and covered by numerous artists and composers, both within and outside of the religious context. In 1952, American composer and musicologist Charles F. Bryan included the hymn in his folk opera "Singin' Billy". In 1958, Samuel Barber composed "Wondrous Love: Variations on a Shape Note Hymn (Op. 34)" for organ, which begins with a traditional hymn statement followed by four variations.
The hymn has also found its way into bluegrass music, with Norman Blake accelerating the first six notes as the intro to his reel "Coming Down from Rising Fawn" in the early 1970s. Folk singer Melanie Safka offered a secular interpretation of the song on her 1971 album "Gather Me". In 2003, the group Blue Highway recorded a new version of the hymn for their album "Wondrous Love". Dwayne S. Milburn composed a prelude based on the hymn as the first movement of his "American Hymnsong Suite" for concert band in 2003.
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