Follow On (hymn)
Encyclopedia
"Follow On", also known in certain cases as "Down In The Valley With My Saviour I Would Go" and "I Will Follow Jesus", is a Christian
hymn
written in 1878 by William Orcutt Cushing. The music for it was composed in 1880 by both Robert Lowry
and W. Howard Doane.
hymn and it is also used by the Salvation Army
. The lyrics are based on the Biblical verse in Hosea 6:3.
Cushing wrote this hymn in New York after he became a Christian minister in 1854; he started writing hymns in 1870 when his health declined, forcing him to retire. He wrote more than three hundred hymns.
Cushing once said about his inspiration to write it:
The hymn's music has been adopted for the anthem of the Scottish
association football club, Rangers
, in their club anthem, "Follow Follow
". There have been disagreements over the Rangers fans' usage of the hymn's music as their anthem with claims such as from the Boy's Brigade complaining that using it and changing the lyrics prevented it from remaining a major hymn in their organization because of the association with Rangers. The original hymn was sung at their Ibrox Stadium
in Glasgow
on 3 January 2011 at a memorial service for the sixty-six victims of the Ibrox disaster
and their families and friends.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
written in 1878 by William Orcutt Cushing. The music for it was composed in 1880 by both Robert Lowry
Robert Lowry
Robert Lowry was an American politician from Mississippi. During the American Civil War he rose from the rank of private to that of brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. Lowry briefly served in the state senate after the war...
and W. Howard Doane.
History
The hymn was originally written as a BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
hymn and it is also used by the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
. The lyrics are based on the Biblical verse in Hosea 6:3.
Cushing wrote this hymn in New York after he became a Christian minister in 1854; he started writing hymns in 1870 when his health declined, forcing him to retire. He wrote more than three hundred hymns.
Cushing once said about his inspiration to write it:
Present day
The hymn started to get dropped from certain hymn books during the 1960s; however it is still contained in Baptist hymnals. There is now a movement to bring back certain traditional hymns such as "Follow On" into current usage.The hymn's music has been adopted for the anthem of the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
association football club, Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
, in their club anthem, "Follow Follow
Follow Follow
"Follow Follow" is a song sung by supporters of Rangers F.C., a football club in Glasgow, Scotland. It is based upon the revivalist hymn "Follow On".-Club usage:The song has been adopted by Rangers as their club anthem...
". There have been disagreements over the Rangers fans' usage of the hymn's music as their anthem with claims such as from the Boy's Brigade complaining that using it and changing the lyrics prevented it from remaining a major hymn in their organization because of the association with Rangers. The original hymn was sung at their Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium located on the south side of the River Clyde, on Edmiston Drive in the Ibrox district of Glasgow. It is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Rangers and has an all-seated capacity of 51,082...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
on 3 January 2011 at a memorial service for the sixty-six victims of the Ibrox disaster
Ibrox disaster
The Ibrox disaster refers to two accidents, in 1902 and 1971, which led to major loss of life at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.-First Ibrox disaster:...
and their families and friends.