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
Cranbrook (hymn tune) Cranbrook (hymn tune) "Cranbrook", also known as "Northampton", is a hymn tune composed in the 1790s or early 1800s by Thomas Clark (1775–1859), a cobbler from Canterbury, and is best known as the tune to the Yorkshire "national anthem" "On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at". The tune was originally published in "A Sett of Psalm & Hymn Tunes with some Select Pieces and an Anthem" in 1805 as a setting for "Grace 'tis a charming sound" by Philip Doddridge, but soon became more widely known as a tune for "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" by Nahum Tate. The tune is 86.88.666