"Sweeter as the Years Go By" is a Christian
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 ...
written by
Lelia N. Morris in 1912. It has been included in 87 hymnals.
Its subject-matter is expressed in the refrain:
It has been recorded in various, mostly
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
, styles. In 1929, it was recorded by
Blind Willie Johnson
Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945), commonly known as Blind Willie Johnson, was an American gospel blues singer and guitarist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930, thirty songs in all, display a combinat ...
on vocals and acoustic guitar in a
gospel blues style under the title "Sweeter as the Years Roll By" (even though he sings "Go" throughout).
[
] released the song at the end of October 1931, on n the then-standard
78 rpm
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...
record format, with "
Take Your Stand" as the flip-side.
References
{{Authority control
Gospel songs
1912 songs
Blind Willie Johnson songs
Columbia Records singles