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Words by Annie S. Hawk
Music by Robert Lowry
Mrs. Annie Sherwood Hawks wrote this hymn in 1872. She was born in Hoosick, NY in 1835.
Mrs. Hawks sent the hymn (five stanzas) to Dr. Lowry, who composed its tune, and added a chorus to make it more effective. It first appeared in a small collection of original songs prepared by Lowry and Doane for the National Baptist Sunday School Association, which met at Cincinnati, OH, November, 1872.
There is a story of a chaplain of the State prison at Concord, Massachusetts, who tells how an ex-prisoner, who had never had a home in his life, built one. It was a humble but tasteful home. The ex-prisoner then asked the chaplain to help him dedicate it. Together they entered the home, and the service began by singing the hymn, "I need Thee every hour".