In NPM’s survey, one of these songs just barely missed a top-ten spot. The other song I used to sing to my daughter at bedtime when she was little, though I used to improvise new lyrics. Make a choice today, my friend, between two songs with widely different pedigrees:
If you want to check the lyrics of the number three seed, page here. Not exactly what one might expect from a song inspired by a passage from an Old Testament prophet. You can hear the composer sing it here.
I’ve heard this song butchered badly. David’s recorded version is just a bit slow for my taste. Pitched too high in the key of A, too. But at least he has something of the Gospel vibe at work here. I’ve heard the piece played as a straight-up folk waltz.
As for the children’s hymn, there’s a good bit of info at this page. As a parent, I don’t turn up my nose at kid songs. I didn’t really do much of it before my wife and I adopted. Such songs have their place in the devotional life of believers, and even the occasional liturgical spot.
I voted for WAC, but under the strenuous objection over the needless variation in versifications that makes it hostile for congregations to sing. (It also needs to be pitched for mezzos and baritones – about 60-80% of the voice distribution – not sopranos and tenors, who are 10-20% of the voice distribution at most.)