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Precious Lord Take My Hand

This hymn was born out of terrible tragedy in the life of gospel composer Thomas A. Dorsey (1899–1993). In an interview for the album Precious Lord: Recordings of the Great Gospel Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey (Columbia Records, 1973), he described the circumstances of the song’s composition: I went out to go to St. Louis one morning, to work in a revival. I left my wife asleep in bed, got in the car, and I went along. She was going to become a mother, and I was anticipating great happiness and joy upon my return. But I got to St. Louis, and about the second night, in the meeting, a telegram boy came and brought me a telegram. I opened it, and it read, “Your wife just died. Come home.” I couldn’t finish the meeting. Finally, I got home to Chicago the next morning, and it was so, I found it all true, they never moved the body. And that chilled me, killed me off; I wanted to return to blues. But after putting my wife away, and the baby in the same casket, I went to the old Poro College, in the music room there, Mr. [Theodore] Frye and I, just browsing over the keys, and seemingly, the words like drops of water from the crevice of a rock above seemed to drop in line. With me on the piano, “Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand; I’m tired, I’m weak, I’m worn. Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord, and lead me home.” Now, God has blessed. I have another family: I have a wife, a son, a daughter, and a grandson about seven, and eight years old. And the Lord has led me, and he will lead you. And I hope, some way, somehow, if you don’t sing “Precious Lord, take my hand,” you will learn to sing it, and sing it with a feeling and a fervor. Dorsey’s wife, Nettie Harper, died on 26 August 1932. Dorsey had started his career as a blues musician (stage name Georgia Tom) but turned his attention to gospel music in the 1920s, thus the reference to returning to the blues. The song was not copyrighted until 1938, when it was published as sheet music by Thomas Dorsey’s own company, with three stanzas. The original setting was for solo voice and piano/organ.