Where were you?

During the Sundays in Lent this year, I’ve been sharing various songs and hymns which tell about the events of Jesus’ final days. Not a lot of happiness to share here, but still some beautiful words.

Though one version of this song claims Johnny Cash as its lyricist, the song was originally written by African-American slaves in the 1800s. It was first published in 1899 in William Eleazar Barton's “Old Plantation Hymns”.

It looks like a long song, but that’s because of its arrangement, repeating three lines in each stanza. It is beautiful, though. If you’ve heard it before, the tune will surely come right back to you as you read.

1. Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

2. Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

3. Were you there when they pierced him in the side?

Were you there when they pierced him in the side?

Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they pierced him in the side?

4. Were you there when the sun refused to shine?

Were you there when the sun refused to shine?

Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when the sun refused to shine?

5. Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

6. Were you there when he rose up from the dead?

Were you there when he rose up from the dead?

Sometimes I feel like shouting 'Glory, glory, glory!'

Were you there when he rose up from the dead?

My favorite line is “when the sun refused to shine”. The Bible tells us that on the first Good Friday, the sky went dark as Jesus hung on the cross. But the way this line is written makes me think that even the sun was showing respect for our Lord and Savior.

This cross is at the Pilgrim Center in Ripon, Wisconsin, overlooking Green Lake, taken in October 2016.