Stand By Me

The story of this hymn

Charles Albert Tindley was born in Maryland in 1851, the son of an enslaved father. He taught himself to read, worked as janitor of a Philadelphia church, and later became its pastor, preaching to thousands at what is now Tindley Temple. He published 'Stand By Me' in 1905, and it became one of the founding songs of gospel music, carried into Methodist, AME and Pentecostal congregations across the world, South Africa included.

Where it sits in the service

Sung when grief is at its rawest — after the tributes, or unaccompanied at the graveside, where the repeated plea needs no hymn book. The final verse, 'when I'm growing old and feeble', is often saved for the coffin's last journey. One practical warning for the order of service: specify the Tindley hymn, or a musician may prepare Ben E. King's 1961 song of the same name.

In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Hymn — Stand By Me” with the leader or choir named beside it.

How it is actually sung

Tindley’s hymn, and a cornerstone of the homegoing tradition — not the popular song of the same name, which families occasionally confuse when telling the organist. Four verses. It suits a service for someone who endured a great deal, and a choir carries it better than a congregation alone.

Printing the words

Public domain. Name Tindley as the author in the programme; it prevents the confusion with the popular song, which happens more often than you would expect.

This is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Reproduction rights vary by territory, by hymnal edition and by the licence your church holds — the church office is the right place to ask, and they answer this question often.