Jesus Loves Me Anna B. Warner, 1860
3 verses and a refrain, meter 7.7.7.7.10.11, public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. Jesus loves me! this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.
Refrain Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so!
Verse 2. Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide:
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
Verse 3. Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way:
If I love Him, when I die
He will take me home on high.
Sing the refrain after every verse.
Words copied from Sacred Songs and Solos: Twelve Hundred Hymns (1921). They were published in 1860, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
The hymn library's slide and print features are made by Church Posting.
The story behind Jesus Loves Me
Anna Bartlett Warner wrote the words for a novel. Say and Seal, a book she wrote with her sister Susan Warner, carried the poem in its second volume in 1860. In the story a teacher comforts a sick boy with the verses, which explains the lines about weakness, sickness and heaven.
William Bradbury set the words to music. The Psalter Hymnal Handbook says he wrote the tune in 1861 and added a refrain. He published it in his Sunday school collection The Golden Shower of S.S. Melodies in 1862. The Hymnology Archive reports that he kept all four of Warner's stanzas and changed the last two lines of the final stanza.
The tune is called JESUS LOVES ME in most books. Some collections call it CHINA, probably because missionaries to China sang it so often. Baptist Hymnal 1991 prints it in D major under the name CHINA and lists 1 Corinthians 6:19 as its Scripture reference. Other hymnals print it in C major or E flat major.
Credit for the words often goes to Anna alone, even though Say and Seal came from both sisters. The Hymnology Archive also notes that the refrain belongs to Bradbury, though it does not say whether he wrote the refrain words himself.
Anna Bartlett Warner
1824 to 1915
Anna Bartlett Warner (1824 to 1915) is credited with the words of Jesus Loves Me. The poem first appeared in the second volume of Say and Seal in 1860, a book she wrote with her sister Susan Warner. In the story a teacher comforts a sick boy with the verses. William Bradbury set the words to music in 1862 and added a refrain. In 1971 David McGuire wrote a revised text for The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church and the United Church of Canada. Credit for the words often goes to Anna alone, although the novel came from both sisters.
William B. Bradbury
1816 to 1868
William Batchelder Bradbury was born at York, Maine, in 1816 and moved with his family to Boston in 1830. He studied in Lowell Mason's singing classes and later led music at the First Baptist Church of Brooklyn and the Baptist Tabernacle in New York. His singing schools helped bring music into New York's public schools. He studied in London and Germany in 1847 and began making Bradbury pianos with his brother Edward in 1851. He edited 59 books of sacred and secular music. His tune BRADBURY, from Oriola (1859), is the one most often sung with "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." He died of tuberculosis in 1868.
- Hymnology Archive: Jesus loves me , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org: JESUS LOVES ME (Bradbury) , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org: Baptist Hymnal 1991, number 344 , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in Jesus Loves Me
The Bible passages behind the words.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19
Jesus Loves Me videos
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Jesus Loves Me (Hymns with lyrics) VagleBrothers, Congregation
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Jesus Loves Me - arr. René Clausen maestroz25, Choir
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Jesus Loves Me - A Cappella Hymns A Cappella Hymns, A cappella
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Jesus Loves Me - piano instrumental hymn Kaleb Brasee, Piano
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Israel & New Breed - Yes, Jesus Loves Me feat Joe L Barnes (Official Video) Israel Houghton, Modern arrangement
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Downloads, printing and slides
Sheet music files
- Sheet music PDF 88 KB. Words and all four parts, ready to print.
- Lead sheet PDF 80 KB. Melody, words and chord symbols for piano or guitar.
- MusicXML score XML 59 KB. Opens in MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius and Dorico to change the key or print parts.
- MIDI, all parts MIDI 2 KB. Plays the four-part harmony in any MIDI player or notation app.
- MIDI, melody only MIDI 1 KB. The tune alone, for learning it.
Practice tracks for each voice part, as MIDI: Alto , Tenor , Bass .
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in C, D or E♭.
Questions people ask
Who wrote Jesus Loves Me?
Anna Bartlett Warner wrote the words, and they first appeared in Say and Seal in 1860. William Bradbury added the tune and refrain in 1862.
What does the song Jesus Loves Me mean?
In Say and Seal a teacher uses the verses to comfort a sick boy. The words speak of weakness, sickness and the promise of heaven.
What key is Jesus Loves Me in?
Hymnary lists C major in many hymnals and D major in Baptist Hymnal 1991. Several gospel songbooks print it in E flat major.
Is Jesus Loves Me in the public domain?
Yes. The words are public domain in the United States, first published in 1860. The tune by William Bradbury dates to 1862 and is public domain as well.
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