Were You There

Text

One of the beautiful things about this hymn is that the text can be changed quite freely to fit your need during a service. The standard verses read: “Were you there…when they crucified my Lord, when they nailed him to the tree, when they laid him in the tomb, when He rose up from the grave” (also, “when God raised him from the tomb”). Other commonly used verses include “when they pierced him in the side,” and “when the sun refused to shine.” However, depending on how you use the song in a service, or when it’s used during the Lenten season, you could ask questions about being in the garden, at the courtyard, etc. (see “When/Why/How” for more).

In the last verse, instead of responding to the question with “Oh sometimes, it causes me to tremble,” some versions respond with “Sometimes I feel like shouting glory. Glory, glory!” This is definitely an appropriate ending for an Easter morning service, but also transitions beautifully into songs of praise if you begin with this hymn.

Tune

This is a tune that needs not much more than the human voice to bring out the power of the words. Sing the whole piece a cappella, or begin a cappella and slowly bring in light piano in the second verse and build throughout. If you have a soloist sing the piece, consider having you’re a choir singing “oohs” behind in harmony to provide a foundation for the soloist. The choir can also come in on each “tremble” underneath the soloist. Selah has a very popular version of this hymn using this soloist-choir combination. If the congregation sings the entire time, support it with some piano or light guitar. Otherwise, feel free to take liberties with the melody and rhythm.

When/Why/How

There are a number of ways this hymn could be used in the Lenten season:

• Change the words to match the theme of each week’s service during Lent and sing the hymn at the same spot in each service.
• If sung on Good Friday, have a soloist or choir sing the hymn unaccompanied at the end of the service. It’s best if the soloist is in the back of the church or hidden.
• Also for a Good Friday Tenebrae service, change the words to match each “Shadow” of the service (i.e. the Shadow of the Cross, the Shadow of the Burial) and sing a verse as a response to each Scripture reading.
• Open with this hymn at an Easter vigil service, ending with the verse, “Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?” At the end of the service, sing the hymn again, but only sing the last verse, “Were you there when God raised Him from the dead?”
• Sing as a call and response: have a soloist begin each verse with the congregation coming in on "Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble".

Suggested music:

• Giomo, Carla. Were You There? - for Choir
• Hopson, Hal. Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? - for Choir
• Raney, Joel and Arnold Sherman. Were You There? - for Handbells and optional Clarinet
• Eliot, Dennis. Cross of Jesus (Practical Organ Music for Holy Week)
• Oines, Sylvia Berg. Bread of Life- Hymn Settings for Piano

Laura de Jong
Hymnary.org

In a culture that tells us that we should get what we want and what we’re entitled to, and that we ought to live our happiest, best life, it definitely goes against the grain to dwell on something sorrowful. And yet, the words of this hymn invite us to take a journey through the last days and hours of Christ’s life. We join the crowd huddled on the sides of the streets, or at the foot of the cross, or in front of a sealed grave. We are brought together because of our trembling and our tears, but also because of our knowledge of why our beloved Savior had to die. Geography, time, culture – none of these hinder our togetherness in the body and blood of Christ. And so as we sing this hymn, we gather with Christians around the world, remembering. We lift our voices with our brothers and sisters, our voices filled with mourning, but also with hope. For we know that the journey of Good Friday ultimately ends with an open and empty tomb, where the earthquake causes us to tremble in awe and praise.