Bless This House (song)

"Bless This House"
Song by John McCormack
Published1927
Composer(s)May Brahe
Lyricist(s)Helen Taylor

"Bless This House" is a song published in 1927. The words were written by Englishwoman Helen Taylor, under the original title "Bless the House". The music was composed by Australian May Brahe, a friend of Taylor's.

One of the first artists to record the song was tenor John McCormack who recorded it on September 16, 1932 in London with Edwin Schneider on piano.[1]

In the United States, this song is strongly associated with Thanksgiving and is often sung around this time. It is frequently found in spiritual/inspirational collections, such as the Doris Day album You'll Never Walk Alone and the Perry Como album I Believe,[2] as well as in many Hymnals. It was a favourite of Vera Lynn, British WW2 "Forces Sweetheart" and appears on her album Favourite Sacred Songs (1972).[3] Australian duo Generation Gap (Australian tenor Jim Hopkin and pianist Stephen Lightbody) also recorded a version of the song which appears on their 2009 album A New Beginning.

Other singers to record it include Gracie Fields,[4] Peter Dawson, Jan Peerce, Beniamino Gigli,[5] Josef Locke,[6] Benjamin Luxon, Leontyne Price, Steve Conway,[7] Harry Secombe (for his album Sacred Songs),[8] Rosemary Clooney,[9] Lesley Garrett and Bryn Terfel.

  1. ^ "The John McCormack Society". mccormacksociety.co.uk. Archived from the original on September 25, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  2. ^ "Perry Como Discography". kokomo.ca. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  3. ^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  5. ^ "GIGLI, Beniamino: Gigli Edition, Vol. 12: London Recordings (1946-1947) - 8.111101". Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  6. ^ "LOCKE, Josef: Hear My Song, Violetta (1947-1950) - 8.120549". Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Steve Conway Best Songs List: Top, New, & Old". AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  8. ^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  9. ^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 30, 2017.