It was written by James Weldon Johnson, who considered the piece a hymn. James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing," colloquially known as the Black national anthem, was originally written ...

Why it's a good choice: One of the most sung hymns at funerals, this is really a prayer to God to stay with him in death as He did with us in life. Henry Francis Lyte, Vicar of Brixham in Devon ...

In the Bible the Apostle Paul writes: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” The word “hymn" comes from the Greek word “hymnos” which means “a song of praise”.