Jesus' Blood

Here's a song I've been singing to my kids their whole lives.



And here's the song as sung by a homeless man on a repeating loop, with Tom Waits providing some of the background vocals, and an orchestral accompaniment arranged by Gavin Bryars.



That's a short version: you can hear a much longer version, starting with part 1, then part 2, part 3, and part 4. It's long, but if you give it a chance it's very moving. You can read about the genesis of this recording here. You'll note the slightly different lyrics: Jars of Clay sings "This one thing I know, that he loves me so," while the homeless man sings "This one thing I know, for he loves me so." I've always sung it like Jars of Clay. And I just had to explain to my kids that I haven't always been singing "This one thing I know, Daddy loves me so." Of course, they know that too, so I guess those two things they know.