Tell Mother I'll Be There

When I was but a little child, how well I recollect

Author: Charles M. Fillmore (1898)
Tune: [When I was but a little child, how well I recollect]
Published in 65 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 When I was but a little child, how well I recollect
How I would grieve my mother with my folly and neglect;
And now that she has gone to Heav’n I miss her tender care:
O Savior, tell my mother I’ll be there!

Refrain:
Tell mother I’ll be there, in answer to her prayer;
This message, blessed Savior, to her bear!
Tell mother I’ll be there, Heav’n’s joys with her to share;
Yes, tell my darling mother I’ll be there.

2 Though I was often wayward, she was always kind and good;
So patient, gentle, loving when I acted rough and rude;
My childhood griefs and trials she would gladly with me share:
O Savior, tell my mother I’ll be there! [Refrain]

3 When I became a prodigal, and left the old rooftree,
She almost broke her loving heart in mourning after me;
And day and night she prayed to God to keep me in His care:
O Savior, tell my mother I’ll be there! [Refrain]

4 One day a message came to me, it bade me quickly come
If I would see my mother ere the Savior took her home;
I promised her, before she died, for heaven to prepare:
O Savior, tell my mother I’ll be there! [Refrain]

Source: Timeless Truths #373

Author: Charles M. Fillmore

Charles Millard Fillmore, 1860-1952 Born: Ju­ly 15, 1860, Par­is, Il­li­nois. Died: Sep­tem­ber 17, 1952, In­di­an­a­po­lis, In­di­a­na. Fillmore won a mu­sic schol­ar­ship at the Cin­cin­na­ti Coll­ege of Mu­sic, then taught for a year at Bath Sem­in­a­ry in Ow­ings­ville, Ken­tucky. He then tra­veled for about a year and taught sing­ing class­es in var­i­ous parts of Amer­i­ca. He then went for ad­di­tion­al mu­sic stu­dies in Cin­cin­na­ti, Ohio. He stu­died for the min­is­try at But­ler Un­i­ver­si­ty in In­di­an­a­po­lis, In­di­a­na, grad­u­at­ing in 1890. He pas­tored in La­fay­ette, In­di­a­na; Shel­by­ville, In­di­a­na; was "State Evan­gel­ist" (for on… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: When I was but a little child, how well I recollect
Title: Tell Mother I'll Be There
Author: Charles M. Fillmore (1898)
Meter: 14.14.14.10 with refrain
Language: English
Refrain First Line: Tell mother I'll be there, in answer to her prayer
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #6821
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Timeless Truths #373
  • Tell_Mother_Ill_Be_There.pdf (PDF)

Instances

Instances (1 - 2 of 2)
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #6821

TextAudio

Timeless Truths #373

Include 63 pre-1979 instances
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