He or she was American, that much can be said. And, it
should go without saying that this composer of ‘He Paid a Debt’ was a
Christ-centered believer – just look at the words written by this otherwise
anonymous writer-musician. He/she was
focused on His sacrifice, and on singing a grateful note in humble response. The
few times it appears in contemporary music collections also suggests it had a
narrow audience, perhaps in just one of America’s Protestant church traditions.
It may also be called a ‘devotional’ song, one that you as a teenager may have
learned around a campfire, looking into a light in an otherwise dark place. That’s
a metaphor for every believer….perhaps that’s why the song has stuck around.
The words ‘American Folk Hymn’ or ‘American Folk Melody’,
but no other attributions, accompany this tune in a few hymnals today. Most American
folk music has been around for relatively few years, perhaps only in the last
two centuries as music goes, according to historical accounts of this music
genre. Typically, a song in this tradition without an identified specific
composer develops orally, based on a simple construct. It’s something that can
be learned easily, just by anyone who can ‘carry a tune in a bucket’. This unknown creator, or maybe even group of
creators, must have been bible students, studying and thinking about what His sacrifice
cost in two past-tense verses, and its relative value to the devoted follower
in one future-tense verse. It was personal for this writer – notice how often, 15
times, that ‘I’, ‘me’, or ‘my’ is vocalized in the three short verses. Yet,
unknown is this person, in a rather ironic twist, huh? But, it’s completely
appropriate and consistent with the song’s theme. I would be nothing without
His everything, to put it simply. Jesus said to come as a little child (Matthew
19:14), say nothing, but feel His embrace. Nothing else matters in that world.
It’s timeless, so maybe that’s why there’s no date associated with this tune
either. Just focus on Him, in that timeless space. That’s what I can do with ‘He
Paid a Debt’.
See the links here for articles about the origins of
American folk music:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_folk_music
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