I'll Be a Sunbeam Want Me for a Sunbeam". The latter version was covered by Nirvana. The hymn was also referenced in the lyrics of the song "Alibi" by Elvis Costello ("Maybe Jesus wants you for a sunbeam?"). I'll Be a Sunbeam "I'll Be a Sunbeam" (also called "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam") is a popular children's Christian hymn composed by Nellie Talbot; it is sung to music composed in 1900 by Edwin O. Excell. Due to its age, the hymn has entered the public domain in the United States. Published in Chicago by Excell as hymn number 137 in his "Praises" in
For the Beauty of the Earth the 1916 Hymnbook, so it could serve as a general hymn. The tune most widely used for this hymn is the same tune used for William Chatterton Dix's "As with Gladness Men of Old," a Christmas carol composed five years prior but not released publicly until three years after Pierpont. (Although the tune is known traditionally as "Dix" in deference to William Dix, it was originally composed by Conrad Kocher in 1838.) Recently, one of the most popular tunes to which this hymn is sung is Lucerna Laudoniæ by David Evans ("E.Arthur") [1874–1948]. This is the set tune, for example,