I'll Be 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 1905, the words and music were anthologized at least three more times in other hymnals before 1923. Virtually nothing is known about lyricist Nellie Talbot; attempts to search census records suggest that she may
Secular hymn (genre) "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by Pete Seeger (famously covered by the Byrds), "Rivers of Babylon" by Melodians (also covered by Boney M), "Benedictus" by the Strawbs, and "Morning Has Broken", which was originally written as a Christian hymn by Eleanor Farjeon, but only mentions God once in the popular version by Cat Stevens (later known as Yusef Islam). Secular hymn (genre) A secular hymn is a type of non-religious popular song that has elements in common with religious music, especially with Christian hymns. The concept goes back at least as far as 17 BCE when the Roman emperor Augustus commissioned the