Description
This is a download file in PDF form that can be printed on your own printer. The song is arranged in four-part hymn style.
The Story
January 13, 1980 was a normal Sunday morning in Garland, Texas. I was sitting in my normal spot at Lavon Drive Baptist Church. But there was one difference. Our guest speaker was Dr. John R. Rice. I had admired him over the years and was looking forward to hearing him in person.
January 13, 1980 was a normal Sunday morning in Garland, Texas. I was sitting in my normal spot at Lavon Drive Baptist Church. But there was one difference. Our guest speaker was Dr. John R. Rice. I had admired him over the years and was looking forward to hearing him in person.
His sermon was about Heaven. At some point in the sermon, it became personal. He
described a scene at the cemetery, where as a young boy he watched as they put his mother in the grave. He mentioned family members and friends who had gone on before. He spoke of them as being alive and well and that he would see them again.
His repeated phrase “I’ll see you again” arrested my attention. I could not help but see Dr. Rice saying those same words when he got to Heaven. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you again.” Thus spawned the Heaven-to-earth context of the song.That day I wrote the chorus but wasn’t sure how to approach the verses. Soon Alfred B. Smith visited our church and I shared with him the chorus and the concept. I revealed my
dilemma of not knowing how to start the song.
described a scene at the cemetery, where as a young boy he watched as they put his mother in the grave. He mentioned family members and friends who had gone on before. He spoke of them as being alive and well and that he would see them again.
His repeated phrase “I’ll see you again” arrested my attention. I could not help but see Dr. Rice saying those same words when he got to Heaven. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you again.” Thus spawned the Heaven-to-earth context of the song.That day I wrote the chorus but wasn’t sure how to approach the verses. Soon Alfred B. Smith visited our church and I shared with him the chorus and the concept. I revealed my
dilemma of not knowing how to start the song.
He said, “Tell the story.” I said, “Tell the what?” “Tell the story of Dr. Rice as a little boy.” I thought, “How do I tell that story in four lines?” But there was something in that statement that gave me the direction I needed.My desire now is that to whatever degree God wants to use “I’ll See You Again,” it will be an instrument expressing the reality of Heaven and the truth that we will see our loved ones again; further, that those who do not know God will be captured by that possibility and receive the grace that has been set before them in the person of Jesus Christ.
Julian Y. Thomas, November 15, 2010
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