Abiding in the Vine
Of all the Christian hymns and songs I’ve written over the years, this one, from 1979, is one of my favorites. Read the lyrics and listen to a great rendition.
Of all the Christian hymns and songs I’ve written over the years, this one, from 1979, is of my favorites. It is based on John 15:
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. [John 15:4-5, ESV]
Here’s the background on how I came to write this song. I had just visited my parents, who lived in Rochester, NY, and attended a Sunday church service with them. At one point, we sang a song I had never heard before, called Abiding in the Vine. I loved the tune, which was upbeat. But in my view the lyrics were shallow, listing some of the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5 22-23, and throwing in “health” and “prosperity” for good measure. [1]
I thought the song deserved better. It should convey the thought that Christ is the vine and the believers are the branches, sharing together in God’s life. It should not be just about displaying Christian virtues. It should be about sharing in God’s life.
So, this is what I came up with:
1. We’ve found the secret of living,
We’ve seen the vision divine:
We are of God in Christ Jesus,
We’re abiding, abiding in the vine.
Chorus:
Abiding in the vine, abiding in the vine,
All the riches of God’s life are mine!
Praise God, He put us here,
Never to leave; oh, we’re—
Abiding, abiding in the vine.
2. No more in vain need we struggle,
Trying the way in to find.
Praise God—we’re in Him already,
Hallelujah, abiding in the vine.
3. In us, the ointment is moving,
’Tis the anointing divine;
God’s precious essence bestowing,
While abiding, abiding in the vine.
4. Now in the life-flow we’re living,
O how the light in us shines!
Both God and man are at home now
By the mutual abiding in the vine.
When I returned to California, I had already worked out the guitar tabs. So, I got with a pianist and sang this song to her with the tune from memory. She then wrote out the piano score, and we taught it the next week to our congregation.
To my delight, I recently discovered this excellent rendition of my lyrics on YouTube:
The lyrics are very singable, and this song is still being sung in churches around the world today. [2]
The song is also featured on hymnal.net with the lyrics and sheet music for piano and guitar, along with another recording. There, I am credited for the lyrics, simply, as “F.S.” [3]
End Notes
[1] I am not certain, but the original tune and lyrics appear to be from one Pastor Earnest. If you have more information, please let me know and I’ll be happy to update this post with proper credit.
[2] These lyrics, both the original and my version, have a solid rhyming structure. In the verses, the second line and fourth line rhyme, and in the chorus the first two lines and the fifth line rhyme. But the meter is irregular. Nevertheless, the meter perfectly matches the tune, so it all works.
[3] I hereby grant permission to anyone who wants to republish my original lyrics. But to avoid confusion, please let me know and credit me as the author. The Creative Commons license is below.
Abiding in the Vine © 1979 by Frank S. Scavo is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International