{{Short description|Christian hymn written by Judson W. Van DeVenter}} {{Infobox musical composition | name = I Surrender All | image = I Surrender All 1896 Gospel Songs of Grace and Glory.jpg | alt = | caption = First publication of "I Surrender All", in ''Gospel Songs of Grace and Glory'' (1896) | composer = | genre = | text = {{Ill|Judson W. Van DeVenter|sv|Judson W. van de Venter}} | meter = 8.7.8.7 with refrain | key = | time = | melody = Winfield S. Weeden | published = {{Start date|1896}} }} "'''I Surrender All'''" is a Christian hymn, with words written by American art teacher and musician {{Ill|Judson W. Van DeVenter|sv|Judson W. van de Venter}} (1855–1939), who subsequently became a music minister and evangelist. It was put to music by Winfield S. Weeden (1847–1908), and published in 1896.
Van DeVenter said of the inspiration for the text:
{{quote|For some time, I had struggled between developing my talents in the field of art and going into full-time evangelistic work. At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing.<ref name=osbeck101 />}}
==Van DeVenter and inception of the hymn== thumb|180px|Judson W. Van DeVenter Judson Van DeVenter<ref>Some sources give spellings of Van De Venter, Van de Venter, or Van Deventer; however his own publication of the hymn reads Van DeVenter.</ref> was born on a farm in Michigan in 1855. Following graduation from Hillsdale College, he became an art teacher and supervisor of art in the public schools of Sharon, Pennsylvania.<ref name=osbeck101 /> He was, in addition, an accomplished musician, singer, and composer.<ref>Phillips, Ron. [https://books.google.com/books?id=70tFOGejiaAC&pg=PA29 ''A God-Sized Future: Move out of your comfort zone, embrace change, and discover a new vision for your life'']. Charisma Media, 2012. p. 29.</ref> Van DeVenter was also an active layman in his Methodist Episcopal Church, involved in the church's evangelistic meetings. Recognizing his talent for the ministry, friends urged him to give up teaching and become an evangelist. Van DeVenter wavered for five years between becoming a recognized artist or devoting himself to ministry.<ref name=osbeck101 /><ref name=cottrill>Cottrill, Robert. [http://wordwisehymns.com/2012/11/16/i-surrender-all/ "I Surrender All"]. ''WordWiseHymns.com''. November 16, 2012.</ref> Finally, he surrendered his life to Christian service, and wrote the text of the hymn while conducting a meeting at the Ohio home of noted evangelist George Sebring.<ref name=osbeck101 /><ref name=cottrill /><ref>Osbeck, Kenneth W. [https://books.google.com/books?id=mPqN_R-waqUC&pg=PA252 ''Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions'']. Kregel Publications, 2002. p. 252.</ref>
Following his decision to surrender his life to the Divine, Van DeVenter traveled throughout the United States, England, and Scotland, doing evangelistic work. Winfield S. Weeden, his associate and singer, assisted him for many years.<ref name=osbeck101 /> Toward the end of his life, Van DeVenter moved to Florida, and was professor of hymnology at the Florida Bible Institute for four years in the 1920s.<ref>[http://cyberhymnal.org/bio/v/a/n/vandeventer_jw.htm Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter (1855–1939)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508214728/http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/v/a/n/vandeventer_jw.htm |date=2015-05-08 }}. ''CyberHymnal.org''.</ref><ref name=news-sun /> After his retirement, he remained involved in speaking and in religious gatherings.<ref name=osbeck101 /><ref name=news-sun /> Van DeVenter published more than 60 hymns in his lifetime, but "I Surrender All" is his most famous.<ref name=umc>{{cite web |last1=Hawn |first1=C. Michael |title=History of Hymns: 'I Surrender All' |url=https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-i-surrender-all |website=Discipleship Ministries |publisher=United Methodist Church |access-date=April 18, 2026 |date=July 1, 2013}}</ref>
"I Surrender All" was put to music by Weeden, and first published in 1896 in ''Gospel Songs of Grace and Glory'', a collection of old and new hymns by various hymnists, compiled by Weeden, Van DeVenter, and Leonard Weaver, and published by Sebring Publishing Co.<ref name=archive>No. 83: "I Surrender All", by J. W. Van DeVenter and W. S. Weeden. In: Weeden, W. S.; Van de Venter, J. W.; Weaver, Leonard (compilers). [https://archive.org/details/gosgra00weed ''Gospel Songs of Grace and Glory'']. New York: Sebring Publishing Co., 1896. (at the Internet Archive)</ref> The following year, Van DeVenter and Weeden also published their jointly written gospel hymn "Sunlight".<ref>[http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Sunlight/ "Sunlight" – Judson W. Van DeVenter, 1897]. ''TimelessTruths.org''.</ref> Weeden, born in Ohio in 1847, taught in singing schools prior to becoming an evangelist, and was a noted song leader and vocalist.<ref name=osbeck101 /> Weeden published many hymns in several volumes, including ''The Peacemaker'' (1894), ''Songs of the Peacemaker'' (1895), and ''Songs of Sovereign Grace'' (1897). His tombstone is inscribed with the title of this hymn, "I Surrender All".<ref name=osbeck101 />
==Contemporary usage== "I Surrender All" has continued to appear in numerous English-language hymnals since its publication.<ref>[http://www.hymnary.org/instances?qu=in%3Ainstances%20textAuthNumber%3Aall_to_jesus_i_surrender&sort=hymnalTitle Selected hymnals containing "I Surrender All"]. ''Hymnary.org''.</ref><ref name=share>[http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/Christian-Music/hymns-the-songs-and-the-stories/i-surrender-all-the-song-and-the-story.html Story behind the song – "I Surrender All"]. ''ShareFaith.com''.</ref> It is both a classic hymn and, due to its gospel-like nature, also one that is performed by churches that prefer contemporary music.<ref name=share />
In the late 1930s, when popular international evangelist Billy Graham was a student at Florida Bible Institute, he studied and fellowshipped with Judson Van DeVenter, and later stated that Van DeVenter greatly influenced his early preaching.<ref name=osbeck101>Osbeck, Kenneth W. [https://books.google.com/books?id=rQ_Y078X5NAC&pg=PA135 ''101 More Hymn Stories'']. Kregel Publications, 1985. pp. 135–136.</ref><ref name=news-sun>[http://mobile.newssun.com/052712-centennial-update "Famous hymn was written in Sebring"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002231/http://mobile.newssun.com/052712-centennial-update |date=2016-03-04 }}. ''News-Sun''. May 27, 2012.</ref><ref>Barrows, Cliff (ed). ''Crusade Hymn Stories, With 10 Hymn Stories by Billy Graham''. Hope Publishing Company, 1967. p. 119.</ref> Graham subsequently popularized "I Surrender All" in his massive crusades and revivals, beginning in the late 1940s.<ref>Blum, Edward J. and Paul Harvey. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IsUCN29Qel0C&pg=PA209 ''The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America'']. University of North Carolina Press, 2012. p. 209.</ref><ref>Smalley, Gary. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0Hqoh4t6Lh8C&pg=PA38 ''Change Your Heart, Change Your Life: How Changing What You Believe Will Give You the Great Life You've Always Wanted'']. Thomas Nelson Inc., 2008. p. 38.</ref><ref>Barrows, Cliff (compiler). [http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/BGEA1957/70 ''Billy Graham Crusade Songs'']. Minneapolis: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1957. Hymn No. 70.</ref>
In 1986, pop singer Deniece Williams, who had had a No. 1 hit the previous year with "Let's Hear It for the Boy", released an album of gospel songs, titled ''So Glad I Know''. Her performance of "I Surrender All" on the album won the Grammy Award for Best Female Soul Gospel Performance.<ref>[http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=Deniece+Williams&field_nominee_work_value=%22I+Surrender+All%22&year=All&genre=All ''Grammy Awards'' – Past Winners Search]: Deniece Williams, "I Surrender All" (1986)</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrkaGg3S9OM Deniece Williams – "I Surrender All"]</ref>
Oprah Winfrey has stated that the hymn played a pivotal role in her life.<ref name=oprah.com /> While she was still a minor Chicago talk-show host, she had auditioned for the role of Sofia in the 1985 film ''The Color Purple'', and desperately wanted the part. After being told that real actresses were being considered instead, she went to a weight-loss camp to slim down in a last effort to be considered. As she ran on the track, she surrendered her desperate desire to God and sang "I Surrender All" until it brought her a sense of peace and release. When she went back indoors, Steven Spielberg was on the phone offering her the part.<ref name=oprah.com>[http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/What-You-Didnt-See/3 "George Clooney, Faith Hill, Kirstie Alley: What You Didn't See"]. ''Oprah.com''. December 9, 2005. p. 3.</ref><ref>Smalley, Gary. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0Hqoh4t6Lh8C&pg=PA37 ''Change Your Heart, Change Your Life: How Changing What You Believe Will Give You the Great Life You've Always Wanted'']. Thomas Nelson Inc., 2008. pp. 37–38.</ref><ref name=hill>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUIIKBx_mFU ''Oprah After the Show'']. Oxygen. November 18, 2005.</ref> For her performance in the film, Winfrey was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 1986, and later that year her talk show was renamed for her, expanded to a full hour, and broadcast nationwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/Oprah-Announces-Plans-to-End-The-Oprah-Winfrey-Show-in-September-2011/2 |title=''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' to End September 2011 |publisher=Oprah.com |date=November 20, 2009 |access-date=May 26, 2011}}</ref><ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001856 Oprah Winfrey] at the Internet Movie Database</ref> In 2005, when singer Faith Hill appeared on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', during rehearsals Winfrey discovered Hill also had a passion for the hymn, and she had her sing it on her ''Oprah After the Show'' television program.<ref name=hill />
==Notable recordings== "I Surrender All" was recorded as early as 1909 by the Edison Mixed Quartet on an Edison cylinder, and the recording is preserved by the University of California Santa Barbara Cylinder Audio Archive.<ref name="Hymnology Archive">{{cite web |last1=Fenner |first1=Chris |title=I Surrender All |url=https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/i-surrender-all |website=Hymnology Archive |access-date=April 18, 2026 |date=March 25, 2019}}</ref>
Other significant recordings include those by:
*Mahalia Jackson, on her album ''The Forgotten Recordings'' (posthumous compilation, 2005) *Andraé Crouch, on his album ''Live in London'' (1978) *Little Richard, on his album ''God's Beautiful City'' (1979) *Deniece Williams, on her album ''So Glad I Know'' (1986) (Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female) *Glen Campbell, on his albums ''Favorite Hymns'' (1989) and ''Home at Last'' (1989) *Cece Winans, on her album ''Alone in His Presence'' (1995) *Carman, on his album ''I Surrender All: 30 Classic Hymns'' (1997) *The Holmes Brothers, on their album ''Promised Land'' (1997) *Ruben Studdard, on his album ''I Need an Angel'' (2004) *Amy Grant, on her album ''Rock of Ages... Hymns and Faith'' (2005) *Oslo Gospel Choir, on their live album ''We Lift Our Hands'' (2005) *Brian Littrell, on the album ''WOW Hymns'' (2007) *Phil Driscoll, on his album ''Songs in the Key of Worship'' (2008) *Michael W. Smith, with Coalo Zamorano, on his album ''A New Hallelujah'' (2008) *Selah, on their album ''You Deliver Me'' (2009) *Kathy Troccoli, on her album ''Worshipsongs: 'Tis So Sweet'' (2013) *Newsboys, on their album ''Hallelujah for the Cross'' (2014) *June Hunt, on her album ''Songs of Surrender'' *Carrie Underwood, on her album ''My Savior'' (2021)
==Text== Theological historian Charles H. Lippy notes that the hymn's text expresses values of "victorious life" concepts of late 19th-century evangelism.<ref name=being>Lippy, Charles H. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3yB1R5485dUC&pg=PA133 ''Being Religious, American Style: A History of Popular Religiosity in the United States'']. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994. p. 133.</ref><ref>Krapohl, Robert H. and Charles H. Lippy. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VD8mwQWLEVEC&pg=PA173 ''The Evangelicals: A Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide'']. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. p. 173.</ref> The victorious life entailed total surrender to Divine will in order to triumph over the problems of daily existence. Lippy summarizes this as follows: "[T]hrough absolute surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit, by giving the self over to possession by the supernatural, one could triumph and thus attain power and control over the course of one's life."<ref name=being />
In keeping with the gospel tradition, "I Surrender All" repeats key words throughout the hymn. Each stanza begins with "All to Jesus I surrender". The hymn's chorus repeats "I surrender all" three times, and an additional two times in the men's part. The entire hymn, if sung with each refrain and second-voice part, contains the word "surrender" 30 times, and the word "all" 43 times.<ref name=umc />
The hymn's first stanza stresses complete surrender: "All to him I freely give". The second stanza surrenders worldly pleasures, and the third prays to "feel the Holy Spirit". Stanza four asks to be filled with Jesus's love, power, and blessing. In the fifth stanza, the singer feels "the sacred flame" – an image of the Holy Spirit – and the joy of "full salvation" born of surrender.<ref name=umc />
==Lyrics== <poem> All to Jesus I surrender, All to him I freely give; I will ever love and trust him, In his presence daily live.
''Refrain:'' I surrender all, I surrender all, All to thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at his feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken, Take me, Jesus, take me now. ''(Refrain)''
All to Jesus I surrender; Make me, Savior, wholly thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that thou art mine. ''(Refrain)''
All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to thee, Fill me with thy love and power, Let thy blessing fall on me. ''(Refrain)''
All to Jesus I surrender; Now I feel the sacred flame. Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to his name! ''(Refrain)''<ref name=archive /><ref>[http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh354.sht 354. I Surrender All]. ''HymnSite.com.''</ref> </poem>
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links==
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Category:1896 songs Category:American Christian hymns Category:19th-century hymns Category:Gospel songs Category:Deniece Williams songs Category:Little Richard songs Category:CeCe Winans songs Category:Amy Grant songs Category:Ruben Studdard songs Category:Michael W. Smith songs Category:Brian Littrell songs Category:Glen Campbell songs