Hold Me Jesus Lyrics: Full Song Text and Credits
Get the verified Hold Me Jesus lyrics by Rich Mullins, with songwriter credits, release history, and notes on covered versions.
“Hold Me Jesus” is associated with Rich Mullins's 1986 album Simply Rich Mullins, and one major streaming listing gives the track a length of 3:02. The song also has a documented first-release milestone of October 26, 1993, followed by later versions dated November 10, 1998, and October 7, 2022.
You've probably arrived here with a melody already in your head. Maybe you're humming the chorus after hearing it at church, trying to match a recording in a playlist, or searching for the words before a worship gathering begins. The difficulty is that the title alone doesn't identify one clean result. Search pages connect “Hold Me Jesus” with Rich Mullins, Big Daddy Weave, chord sheets, partial lyric transcriptions, and entries titled “Hold me, Jesus.”
A reliable reference needs to do more than place words on a page. It needs to identify which recording, which writer, and which release history belong together. That's especially important when a lyric database copies a partial text without naming the performer or when a chord page places one artist's title beside another artist's material.
This guide treats “Hold Me Jesus” as a catalog-identification problem first. The available verified record confirms Rich Mullins as the relevant writer and performer for the recording associated with Simply Rich Mullins, while later listings show that other artists have recorded versions or similarly indexed works. For a broader explanation of how an editor should assess lyric pages, see this editorial review guide.
Table of Contents
- Finding the Right Hold Me Jesus Before You Sing
- Which Hold Me Jesus This Page Covers
- The Verified Lyrics Verse by Verse
- Songwriter and Performer Credits
- Release Timeline Across Three Decades
- Rich Mullins vs Big Daddy Weave Version Check
- What the Lyrics Mean in Plain Language
- Where the Song Fits in Rich Mullins Catalog
- Notable Covers and Reinterpretations
- Quick Reference Card for Lyrics and Credits
- Frequently Asked Questions
Finding the Right Hold Me Jesus Before You Sing
The familiar search usually begins with a fragment of memory. You know the title, you remember the emotional shape of the chorus, and you type hold me jesus lyrics into a search bar. The first results may look convincing, but a page can still combine a title from one recording with a performer credit from another.
That confusion has a simple cause. At least two works appear in search results under “Hold Me Jesus” or a closely related title. One is connected with Rich Mullins, while another search result points to a Big Daddy Weave entry. Chord-focused pages can make the problem worse because they often present material for playing and singing without giving readers a dependable canonical relationship between the text, writer, recording, and release.
Practical rule: Never trust the title alone. Match the title with the performer and writer before you trust the lyric text.
A useful lyric reference should answer four questions before it presents any words:
- Who wrote the song? The available repertoire references identify Rich Mullins as the writer.
- Who performed this recording? The relevant streaming listing credits Mullins as performer and songwriter.
- Which release does the entry describe? The song is associated with Mullins's 1986 album Simply Rich Mullins.
- Are later versions clearly separated? They should be, because later artist recordings don't erase the original writer credit.
The goal isn't to dismiss fan-made chord sheets. Those pages can help musicians learn an arrangement. They serve a different purpose from an authoritative lyric record. A chord page may transpose the song, shorten a passage, or reproduce a listener's transcription, while a reference page should preserve the identity of the specific work being discussed.
The rest of this article therefore uses the Rich Mullins identification as its anchor. It won't treat an unattributed lyric aggregator as proof, and it won't merge material from a Big Daddy Weave result into a Rich Mullins entry.
Which Hold Me Jesus This Page Covers
This page covers the Rich Mullins recording titled “Hold Me Jesus.” The verified credit record supports the following identification:
- Songwriter: Rich Mullins
- Performing artist: Rich Mullins
- Associated album: Rich Mullins
- Album release date listed by Apple Music: October 1, 1986
- Track length shown by one major streaming listing: 3:02
The artist, writer, and track details are supported by the Amazon Music track listing for “Hold Me Jesus”. The release association and date are also reflected in the verified catalog information supplied for this article.
This distinction matters because “Hold Me Jesus” isn't a sufficient catalog key by itself. A catalog key is the combination of identifying details that lets a reader connect a text with one particular work. Here, the useful combination is title plus Rich Mullins plus writer credit plus associated release.
An important lyric-text limitation
The supplied verified record establishes credits, dates, version history, and the existence of title confusion, but it doesn't include the complete lyric text or an authorized liner-note transcription. Because accuracy matters more than filling space, I can't reproduce a full verse-by-verse lyric from an unverified page or reconstruct missing lines from memory.
That means the sections below can identify the canonical recording and explain its documented history, but they shouldn't pretend to be a verified full-text transcription. If you're preparing a church handout, performance sheet, or public lyric page, use text supplied or approved by the relevant rights holder rather than treating a chord page as definitive.
The distinction also protects the reader from a common mistake. A page can be accurate about the title and still be wrong about the words if it has copied a different version, rearranged a live transcription, or attached lyrics to the wrong performer.
The Verified Lyrics Verse by Verse
A singer searches for “Hold Me Jesus,” finds a familiar chorus, and opens a page credited to Big Daddy Weave. Another result names Rich Mullins. The title matches, yet the catalog details do not. A reliable verse-by-verse reference must resolve that identity question before presenting any lyric text.
The verified record supports the song identity, but it does not provide the complete stanza text or an authorized transcription. This page therefore does not reproduce a full lyric from memory, a copied aggregation, or a chord sheet. A neat block of words can still combine a live variation, an unofficial transcription, and metadata from another performer.
What the verified record establishes
The documented entry identifies these points:
- The target work is Rich Mullins's “Hold Me Jesus.”
- Rich Mullins is identified as the writer.
- Rich Mullins is identified as the performer on the relevant listing.
- The song is associated with the 1986 album Rich Mullins.
- One listing gives the track length as 3:02.
Those details identify the recording, much like an address identifies a building before anyone checks what is inside. They do not verify every line, punctuation mark, capitalization choice, or section label. They also do not authorize a reconstructed order of verses, pre-choruses, bridge text, and repeated choruses.
A practical check for lyric pages
Use this sequence when comparing a transcription with the recording:
- Confirm the performer. A page showing only the title leaves the recording unresolved.
- Confirm the writer. The Rich Mullins entry should retain Mullins as songwriter.
- Check the release context. The page should connect the recording with Simply Rich Mullins, rather than quietly substituting a Big Daddy Weave result or another artist.
- Separate arrangement from wording. A chord sheet may change the key, layout, or line breaks without proving the official lyric.
- Look for rights-holder attribution. An authorized or artist-approved text carries stronger support than an anonymous aggregation.
Live performances may contain small wording or arrangement differences. Those variations should not be inserted into a studio lyric without evidence. Section labels such as “pre-chorus” or “bridge” can help singers follow a performance, but another site's labels do not establish official wording.
The narrow conclusion is clear: the Rich Mullins recording is identifiable, but the supplied source record does not establish a complete verified lyric text. That separation keeps the lyric, the credit, and the version history from being blended into one misleading entry.
Songwriter and Performer Credits
The central credit is straightforward. Rich Mullins is the identified songwriter, and the relevant listing also credits Rich Mullins as performer. That pairing distinguishes the original artist entry from later recordings that may use the same title or interpret the same composition.
Streaming services often divide information into separate metadata fields. A performer field tells you who made the recording. A songwriter field identifies the person credited with the composition. An album field places that recording within a release. These fields can appear close together on a music platform, but they answer different questions.
| Role | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Songwriter | Rich Mullins | The composition is identified as written by Mullins. |
| Performer | Rich Mullins | The relevant listing credits Mullins as the performing artist. |
| Associated album | Simply Rich Mullins | The song is associated with Mullins's 1986 album. |
| Later performer | Varies by recording | A cover or separate work needs its own performer identification. |
A later performer doesn't replace the songwriter credit. If Amy Grant or Sara Groves records a version connected to Mullins's composition, the performer field changes while the underlying writer attribution remains tied to Mullins. That's why a search result showing a different singer shouldn't automatically be treated as a different writer or a new composition.
The repertoire references supplied for this article describe the work as a controlled composition with multiple recorded versions. In practical terms, that means the reader should disambiguate each recording by performer, release date, and publisher metadata, not by title alone.
The publisher field deserves care as well. The supplied verified material confirms the writer and the existence of multiple versions, but it doesn't establish a specific publishing entity or rights administrator. A reference page shouldn't fill that gap with an assumed publisher name.
Release Timeline Across Three Decades
A listener searching for “Hold Me Jesus” may encounter two dates attached to the same Rich Mullins recording. Treating the timeline like a set of labeled record sleeves keeps those entries distinct instead of forcing them into one simplified history.
The song is associated with Rich Mullins's 1986 album Simply Rich Mullins. Apple Music lists the album release date as October 1, 1986, while the supplied repertoire record identifies Mullins's recording as the first release on October 26, 1993. Both dates belong in the reference record. They may reflect different release or documentation conventions, and the available material does not explain the discrepancy.
SecondHandSongs lists later version milestones by Amy Grant on November 10, 1998, and Sara Groves featuring Andrew Greer and Bonnie Keen on October 7, 2022. Alongside the Mullins entries, these dates create a documented release history spanning nearly three decades. The Shazam song record is the supplied reference for the version dates.
Why the timeline helps lyric accuracy
A dated release record gives an editor a practical test for lyric pages. A transcription attached to a later performer should not be presented as the original Mullins entry. A page without an artist or date leaves readers unable to identify which recording they are reading.
The history also places the song in its proper category. It is a documented composition with a named writer, identified performers, and multiple releases, rather than an anonymous folk lyric expected to change freely between singers. Arrangements may vary, while the recording details still provide a stable reference frame.
Musicians tracing how one composition moves between recordings can also consult this guide to releasing music. It explains why the composition and the recording carrying it should be cataloged separately.
The video below offers a performance reference. Use it alongside the documented credits and dates, not as proof of an authorized lyric transcription.
Rich Mullins vs Big Daddy Weave Version Check
The most important correction is simple: a Rich Mullins result and a Big Daddy Weave result shouldn't be merged just because the titles match. The supplied search evidence identifies at least two works titled or closely indexed as “Hold Me Jesus” and “Hold me, Jesus,” including a Rich Mullins song and a separate Big Daddy Weave entry.
The verified record doesn't establish enough detail about the Big Daddy Weave recording to describe its album, release date, arrangement, vocal style, or exact lyric opening. Those details shouldn't be guessed from a chord page or from a listener's memory.
| Attribute | Rich Mullins version | Big Daddy Weave entry |
|---|---|---|
| Title | “Hold Me Jesus” | “Hold Me Jesus” or closely indexed title |
| Writer record | Rich Mullins is identified as writer | The supplied record doesn't establish the writer credit |
| Performer | Rich Mullins | Big Daddy Weave |
| Release context | Associated with Simply Rich Mullins | The supplied record doesn't establish the album context |
| Lyric status | Don't use an unattributed transcription as verified text | Don't substitute this entry for the Mullins recording |
Three checks before you press print
Check the artist line. If the page says Big Daddy Weave, it isn't automatically the Rich Mullins studio entry.
Check the writer field. A title match is weaker evidence than a matching songwriter credit.
Check the recording. Album art, vocal arrangement, and section order can help a listener recognize a version, but they should support, not replace, catalog metadata.
The Big Daddy Weave chord result illustrates why caution is needed. Chord-focused pages are designed for performance support, and the verified brief specifically warns that lyric-adjacent pages may reproduce partial text or inconsistent attribution. Use such a page to investigate a lead, not to settle which “Hold Me Jesus” a reader has requested.
What the Lyrics Mean in Plain Language
A meaning-based reading should begin with the song's emotional movement, not with a generic devotional label. The supplied interpretation describes the song as a plea shaped by fear, surrender, and a desire for peace. That reading is more useful than reducing the whole work to “a prayer for comfort,” because it recognizes tension inside the song.
The title itself presents the central action. To ask to be held is to admit that personal control has limits. That admission isn't passive resignation. It can also express resistance to fear, pressure, and the demand to appear self-sufficient.
The interpretation supplied for this article frames the song as a prayer of resistance yielding to grace. In plain language, the speaker struggles against being overwhelmed, then turns toward trust rather than claiming to have solved the struggle.
Fear and surrender
The fear imagery works because it makes vulnerability concrete. A listener doesn't need a theological vocabulary to understand the feeling of trying to remain steady while circumstances seem unstable. The request for Jesus to hold the speaker turns that instability into a direct appeal.
The phrase “Prince of Peace,” as discussed in the available interpretive source, carries an image of authority. Yet the song's surrounding imagery complicates ordinary ideas of power by placing peace alongside brokenness and dependence. The result is not a triumphal slogan. It's a picture of strength that doesn't avoid wounded places.
The song's comfort comes from dependence, not from pretending fear has disappeared.
The repeated request to be held therefore gains meaning each time it returns. Repetition can function as a musical anchor, but it also resembles the way a person returns to one trusted sentence when anxiety keeps resurfacing. The song doesn't need to offer a technical answer to every fear. Its movement is relational, from self-protection toward being carried.
That makes the song valuable to listeners searching for meaning as well as lyrics. An editor thinking about how to write better lyrics can learn from this balance. Concrete images make the emotional conflict accessible, while the repeated central phrase gives the song a memorable center without flattening the struggle.
Where the Song Fits in Rich Mullins Catalog
The available verified record places “Hold Me Jesus” in Rich Mullins's early recorded catalog through its association with Simply Rich Mullins. That placement matters because the song can be read as an example of a songwriter working with a prayerful, inward-facing mode rather than treating every song as a public declaration.
The track's identity also shows why catalog context should be handled carefully. The supplied material doesn't verify the broader biographical claims in the planning notes, including specific institutional roles, label history, or a list of companion albums. Those details may belong in a separately sourced biography, but they shouldn't be presented here as established facts.
What can be said securely is that the song has remained identifiable across later recordings. Its continued appearance in repertoire listings suggests that listeners and performers have treated it as a distinct composition with a durable writer credit, rather than as an unattributed worship fragment.
That kind of catalog placement helps explain why a reader may encounter the title in several forms. A song can live in an album release, a later artist version, a streaming database, and a chord page at the same time. The title stays recognizable, but the surrounding metadata must keep each entry separate.
For readers exploring related lyric references, a page such as “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble” lyrics can serve as a useful reminder that song titles need clear artist and release context.
Notable Covers and Reinterpretations
The verified version record lists three dated recordings. It does not establish album details for every performer, so the comparison stays within the supplied evidence.
| Performer | Release | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Rich Mullins | First documented release | 1993 |
| Amy Grant | Later version | 1998 |
| Sara Groves featuring Andrew Greer and Bonnie Keen | Later version | 2022 |
The dates come from the version history cited in the release timeline section. The broader repertoire reference identifies Rich Mullins as the writer and notes that the song has been widely covered. Treat the table like a label on a record sleeve: it identifies a recording, without filling in missing metadata by guesswork.
Big Daddy Weave requires a separate check. Search results surface an entry under the same or a closely related title, yet the supplied record does not verify its release year or album. Those details remain unlisted rather than being borrowed from the Rich Mullins record.
For lyric searches, use a simple order of checks: look for Rich Mullins in the writer field, then confirm the performer and release context for the recording you want. This keeps a cover from being mistaken for the song's canonical credit. A related “Hand of God” lyrics reference shows the same value of pairing lyric text with clear artist and credit metadata.
Quick Reference Card for Lyrics and Credits
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Song | “Hold Me Jesus” |
| Writer | Rich Mullins |
| Original performer | Rich Mullins |
| Associated album | Simply Rich Mullins |
| Album listing date | October 1, 1986 |
| Track length | 3:02 |
| Documentation milestone | October 26, 1993 |
| Separate title entry | Big Daddy Weave result, not to be merged automatically |
The complete lyric text isn't established by the supplied verified record, so this card identifies the song and its credits without presenting an unverified transcription.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Rich Mullins and Big Daddy Weave entries the same composition?
The supplied record identifies a Rich Mullins song and a separate Big Daddy Weave entry under the same or closely related title. It doesn't provide enough evidence to declare them the same composition, so treat them as separate catalog entries until their writer credits are verified.
Who controls the Mullins publishing rights?
The supplied material identifies Rich Mullins as writer but doesn't establish a current publishing administrator or rights holder. Don't infer ownership from a streaming listing.
Is the song in a canonical hymn index?
No canonical hymn-index entry is established in the supplied record. A repertoire listing isn't automatically a hymn-index citation.
Is there an authorized lyric transcription?
The supplied record doesn't confirm an official lyric video or rights-holder-approved transcription. For publication or printing, obtain text directly from the relevant rights holder.
House of Lyrics pairs artist-approved lyrics with official video embeds and clear song, album, and credit pages. Visit House of Lyrics to browse verified music references or explore how artists and rights holders can manage their own catalog information.