"I'll Be a Sunbeam" (also called "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam") is a popular children's

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

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'' d ...

composed by Nellie Talbot; it is sung to music composed in 1900 by Edwin O. Excell. Due to its age, the hymn has entered the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Published in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

by Excell as hymn number 137 in his ''Praises'' in 1905, the words and music were anthologized at least three more times in other

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). They are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Christia ...

s before 1923. Virtually nothing is known about lyricist Nellie Talbot; attempts to search

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

records suggest that she may have been born in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

in 1874 and was living in

in 1910, but these identifications are speculative.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

has a children's primary program which includes Sunbeams (a class for 3-year-olds). The theme song to this class is, "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam."

Lyrics

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam,
To shine for Him each day;
In every way try to please Him,
At home, at school, at play. Refrain A sunbeam, a sunbeam,
Jesus wants me for a sunbeam;
A sunbeam, a sunbeam,
I'll be a sunbeam for Him. Jesus wants me to be loving,
And kind to all I see;
Showing how pleasant and happy
His little one can be. Refrain I will ask Jesus to help me
To keep my heart from sin,
Ever reflecting His goodness,
And always shine for Him. Refrain I'll be a sunbeam for Jesus;
I can if I but try;
Serving Him moment by moment,
Then live with Him on high. Refrain

Parodies

This song was parodied in 1987 as "

Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" is a song originally recorded by the Scottish alternative band the Vaselines. It was later covered by American rock band Nirvana in 1993 who renamed it "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam". History "Jesus Wants ...

" by

The Vaselines The Vaselines are a Scottish alternative rock band. Formed in Glasgow in 1986, the band was originally a duo between its songwriters Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, but later added James Seenan and Eugene's brother Charlie Kelly on bass and dr ...

; shortly thereafter they renamed it "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam". The latter version was covered by

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

. The hymn was also referenced in the lyrics of the song "Alibi" by

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

("Maybe Jesus wants you for a sunbeam?").

References

Hymn Time

External links

''I'll Be a Sunbeam''
in
"Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam"
''

Children's Songbook The ''Children's Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' is the official songbook for children in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was first published in English in 1989. These songs are for the ...

'', The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: words and music to first two verses American Christian hymns Children's songs Primary (LDS Church) Religious works for children 1900 songs Songs about Jesus {{christian-song-stub