Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

"Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart" or mostly Give Thanks is an American Christian worship song written by Henry Smith in 1978. It is sung in F major with an irregular meter.[1]

History

"Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart" was written in 1978 by Henry Smith. The song was his only published worship song out of 300 unpublished compositions.[2] It was written after Smith had trouble finding work after graduating from university. He also suffered from a degenerative condition that eventually left him legally blind.[3] While at his church in Williamsburg, Virginia, his pastor inspired him with a reference to how Jesus made himself poor to make others rich through him. When Smith started performing the song in church, a visiting United States Military officer took the song to Europe, from where its popularity spread.[2] In 1986, Integrity Music published the song on their Hosanna! Music audio cassette but credited it as "author unknown". Later that year, Don Moen released the song on his Give Thanks album.[4] Smith contacted Integrity to inform them of his authorship and they said that they had been attempting to track him down. As a result, Smith signed a writer-publisher agreement with Integrity for distribution rights to the song.[2]

The lyrics of "Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart" have been erroneously credited to Moen rather than Smith in some media reports.[5] In the United States, the song was used by a Catholic news website to focus on returning a Christian focus to Thanksgiving celebrations.[6] The song has also been cited by Christian authors to be used for thanksgiving[7] and giving thanks to God.[8]

The song does share some melodic elements with "Go West" by the Village People and later covered by The Pet Shop Boys.

References
  1. "Give Thanks (Smith)". Hymnary.org. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  2. Terry, Lindsay (2008). I Could Sing of Your Love Forever: Stories Behind 100 of the World's Most Popular Worship Songs. Thomas Nelson Inc. pp. 62–63. ISBN 978-1418574659.
  3. "Henry Smith". Hymnary.org. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  4. "Lyrics for "Give Thanks" by Don Moen". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  5. "Give thanks with a grateful heart". The North Augusta Star. 2016-06-07. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  6. "Happy Thanksgiving Day: Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart". Catholic Online. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  7. Meyer, Joyce (2008). "November 21". Ending Your Day Right: Devotions for Every Evening of the Year. Hachette UK. ISBN 978-0446548816.
  8. White, Linda (1999). Lift Up Your Hearts: Songs for Creative Worship. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 114. ISBN 0664501443.
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