The
hymn I’ll Live On has been a favorite
of mine to sing so I was surprised by not only the lack of biographical
information about its composer but also that more hymns by this writer & composer
are not more widely known. I am reminded
of the amount of talent and other factors that go into making a “hit” in the
music industry as I studied this popular hymn.
Thomas Jesse Laney (1878-1953), Lyricist & Composer
Thomas Jesse Laney was
born May 17, 1878 in Carroll County, Georgia.
Even Internet sites devoted to hymns comment about the scarcity of biographical
information about Laney. Some sources
show that he was married to Mattie (Martha) R. Gannaway Laney, and they had two
sons and three daughters. Thomas Jesse
Laney died January 5, 1953 in Jefferson County, Alabama. He is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery,
Birmingham, Alabama. His wife also died
in 1976 and is buried next to him.
Some of other lyrics he
is credited with include: Disease with Its Distress and Fear, There Is a Land, a Sunny Land, There Will Be a Great Reunion, There’s a Land of Light and Love and We Are Traveling on Today. According to Hymnary.org, I’ll Live On is by far his most popular
hymn. To this writer’s knowledge, the
only hymn by Laney we sing is I’ll Live
On among churches of Christ.
I’ll Live On
Tradition has it that Laney
was inspired by a sermon (imagine that) delivered by S. L. Pruett, during a
revival conducted by the Methodist Church in Eulaton, Alabama in 1914. The song is popular even being recorded by
such artists as Bill Monroe around 1937.
The apostle Paul
discusses the importance and connection between Jesus Christ’s resurrection and
our own personal resurrection. One of
thoughts that I try to remind myself, and others, is what Paul wrote—“If in this life
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1
Corinthians 15:19, NKJV.) When we look
around our society today, it seems like the world is having a field day
celebrating in its free-wielding, no holds-barred and pleasure centered
lifestyle. We need to remember that
their field day will not last forever!
In the scope of eternity, their field day is just that…a day. The term translated “most pitiable” (which is
translated as “most miserable” in the KJV) by Paul is the Greek word eleeinos which is an adjective meaning
either miserable or to be pitied. The
apostle Peter wrote about how those of the world will look at us rather
strangely—“For
we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the
Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking
parties, and abominable idolatries. In
regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the
same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready
to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:3-5, NKJV.) It gives Christians no comfort at the certain
doom that disobedient souls headed to eternity which is why Christians have, or
ought to have, a “sense of urgency” about spreading the soul-saving gospel
message! Perhaps you are spending your
lifetime “doing the will of the Gentiles”.
If so, we plead with you to put your hope in Christ! As Laney wrote “‘Tis
a sweet and glorious tho’t that comes to me, I’ll live on,…” If that is not a glorious thought to you,
then we encourage you to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ so you can sing the
words that following in this hymn, “…Jesus saved my
soul from death and now I’m free. I’ll
live on, yes, I’ll live on.”
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SOURCES: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/l/a/n/laney_tj.htm.
http://www.hymnary.org/person/Laney_TJ1.
John P. Wiegand, Editor, Praise for the Lord, Nashville, TN: Praise Press, 1997.
“Thomas J. Laney Passes in Birmingham,” The Anniston Star, Anniston, AL, January 5, 1953, p. 2.
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