The lyrics to "Revive Us Again" were written in 1863 by William P. Mackay, the music by John J. Husband in 1815. Not sure how the collaboration worked, as Husband died before McKay was born. If you have any information about the history of the hymn please share it with us.
The hymn has been one of the most popular for the last century and a half, often used in revival meetings, including being used in nearly every one of Billy Graham's evangelistic meetings.
We play it here in a simple straightforward style in the key of D, using only D, G, A, and A7th chords. You can find it performed in a wide variety of styles on Youtube. We'd be interested in hearing how you play it. Make a video and send us a link and we'll post it on our "You Do It" page.
In 1908 the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or Wobblies) printed a parody of the hymn, "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum." Its origin hasn't been established beyond question, but Harry McClintock "Haywire Mac" claimed authorship and obtained copyright for the song. In some circles "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" is much better known than "Revive Us Again!"
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