In My Heart There Rings a Melody

Heather Allington

Heather writes for Sunday Song Book on behalf of the The Salvation Army Oshawa. As a lifelong member of the Army, she has loved these familiar - and some less familiar - songs for many years, and enjoys researching and writing about their origins. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and retired elementary school teacher who likes trying her hand at watercolour painting and poetry writing.

I have a song that Jesus gave me,
It was sent from Heaven above;
There never was a sweeter melody,
‘Tis a melody of love.

In my heart there rings a melody,
There rings a melody of Heavenly harmony;
In my heart there rings a melody,
There rings a melody of love!

I love the Christ Who died on Calv’ry,
For He washed my sins away;
He put within my heart a melody,
And I know it’s there to stay.

‘Twill be my endless theme in Glory;
With the angels I will sing;
‘Twill be a song with glorious harmony,
When the courts of Heaven ring!

“Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5: 18, 19 (NIV)

Some people would say that singing is evidence of a life filled with the Holy Spirit, and perhaps this is so, if it’s the right kind of singing. Elton Roth was a Spirit-filled man who wrote this song while taking a break from leading evangelistic meetings in Texas in 1923. Walking on an oppressively hot afternoon, he paused at the open door of an empty church. He stepped inside and felt God’s presence there, and began singing some of the above words. Soon he had written the whole song, and he introduced it at an open-air meeting that evening. The song was quickly learned by a choir of over two hundred young people, and after they had sung it, the audience joined in. Elton said, “I was thrilled as it seemed my whole being was transformed by the song.” This was one of the first of his hundred or so hymns.

“I was thrilled as it seemed my whole being was transformed by the song.” Share on X

Elton Roth had led his first choir at the age of fourteen. He attended Moody Bible Institute and Fort Worth Bible School, as well as studying music in Europe. He became a singing evangelist and a song leader for many evangelistic meetings, and was a noted instructor of music at several Christian schools and colleges.