Today's chorus is 'Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart' written by Henry Smith. The song was his only published worship song out of 300 unpublished compositions. It was written after Smith had trouble finding work after graduating from university. He also suffered from a degenerative condition that eventually left him legally blind. While at his church in Williamsburg, Virginia, his pastor inspired him with a reference to how Jesus made himself poor to make others rich through him. When Smith started performing the song in church, a visiting United States Military officer took the song to Europe, from where its popularity spread. In 1986, Integrity Music published the song on their Hosanna! Music audio cassette but credited it as "author unknown". Later that year, Don Moen released the song on his Give Thanks album. Smith contacted Integrity to inform them of his authorship and they said that they had been attempting to track him down. As a result, Smith signed a writer-publisher agreement with Integrity for distribution rights to the song.
The lyrics have been erroneously credited to Moen rather than Smith in some media reports. In the United States, the song was used by a Catholic news website to focus on returning a Christian focus to Thanksgiving celebrations. The song has also been cited by Christian authors to be used for thanksgiving and giving thanks to God.
The download to the alphanotes sheet music can be found here. Enjoy!
LYRICS
Give thanks with a grateful heart,
give thanks to the Holy One;
give thanks, because he’s given
Jesus Christ, his Son.
Give thanks with a grateful heart,
give thanks to the Holy One;
give thanks, because he’s given
Jesus Christ, his Son.
And now let the weak say ‘I am strong’,
let the poor say ‘I am rich’,
because of what the Lord has done for us;
and now let the weak say ‘I am strong’,
let the poor say ‘I am rich’,
because of what the Lord has done for us.
Give thanks…
