1000 Songs/What can wash away my sin (Robert Lowry)
What can wash away my sin (Robert Lowry)
Text
[edit | edit source]What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this I see
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my pardon this my plea
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Nothing can for sin atone
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Now by this I'll overcome
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Now by this I'll reach my home
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Author
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[edit | edit source]Background
[edit | edit source]Author biography
[edit | edit source]Lowry was born in Philadelphia, PA on March 12, 1826. He was known as being a great musician as well as a great preacher, who was very brilliant and also very humorous. Although he is known for being a great composer, his greatest desire was his preaching, however his songs have gone to live on even after his death.
Author's circumstances
[edit | edit source]After the death of a William B. Bradbury, owner of a well-developed music publishing company, Lowry was asked to take part in this publishing company. In his growth in musical influence, Lowry grew in his studies as well. He sought knowledge from some of the best musical textbooks, and obtained copies of some of the best musical compositions.
When asked "Do you write the words to fit the music, or the music to fit the words?" Lowry said:
"I have no method. Sometimes the music comes and the words follow, fitted insensibly to the melody. I watch my moods, and when anything good strikes me, whether words or music, and no matter where I am, at home or on the street, I jot it down. Often the margin of a newspaper or the back of an envelope serves as a notebook. My brain is a sort of spinning machine, I think, for there is music running through it all the time. I do not pick out my music on the keys of an instrument. The tunes of nearly all the hymns I have written have been completed on paper before I tried them on the organ. Frequently the words of the hymn and the music have been written at the same time."