Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
This page includes a lyric video, history, sheet music, and other resources for the classic hymn “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.” Enjoy!
Enjoy this You Tube video, performed by Todd Agnew, with lyrics for “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”:
History of “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”
Words Attributed to Dorothy Ann Thrupp (1779-1847), Published in 1836
The hymn “Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us” first appeared in Hymns for the Young, 4th edition (1836) – a collection of songs compiled by Dorothy Thrupp in which no authors were listed.1 When the song appeared again in Children’s Friend (1838), it was attributed to “Lyte” (thought to be Henry Francis Lyte). In the same year, a collection titled Selection of Hymns and Poetry for the Use of Infant and Juvenile Schools (1838) attributed a number of songs to Dorothy using her initials D.A.T., but “Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us” was printed without authorship, leaving some scholars to believe that Dorothy did not write the hymn.2 Since evidence for Lyte as the author is lacking, the hymn is generally attributed to Dorothy. If she was not in fact the author, she was at least the first to publish the song that has since become a beloved classic.
Tune “Bradbury” by William Batchelder Bradbury (1816-1868), Published in 1859
William Bradbury composed this tune to be paired with the words of “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.” He published the hymn in his Sunday school collection titled Oriola in 1859.
Because William composed so many of the songs featured on this site, there is a separate page for the Biography of William Bradbury.
Additional Resources for “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”:
Sheet Music (PDF Compliments of Hymnary.org)
Guitar Chords (Links to Traditional Music)
Visit Hymnary.org or Hymn Time.com for more on this hymn.
See our Hymn of the Week page for a list of the hymns that are included on this site.
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Sources:
1 Reynolds, William Jensen. Hymns of Our Faith: A Handbook for the Baptist Hymnal. Broadman Press, 1964, p. 172.
2 Ibid.
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