Humble Yourself – Bob Hudson

Someone says ‘He was a kid!’ At least, initially, this would be the first-blush reaction when information surfaces that the words and music to a song are attributed to a boy who was no older than twelve. Was it his only song? Did Bob Hudson write other tunes, other than “Humble Thyself (also known as Humble Yourself) that appeared in print by 1978? What could one surmise from what Bob wrote, and especially so if no other information were known about him? Bob Hudson may be virtually anonymous, but if he’s reached the age of 50 years (as of 2016), surely someone somewhere has discovered, or at least asked him, what transpired in the life of a boy that made “Humble Thyself” the result. Did he maybe look at Saint Humility (pictured here, painted by Lorenzetti in 1341) to gain inspiration for what he wrote?

Bob Hudson may be the same person born in 1966 to whom the song is credited in the one source this blogger found regarding this simple song about humility and a Christian’s core beliefs. Where he was and what he was doing are mysteries, but at least he didn’t leave his fellow believers wondering what he was thinking. We have his words. They have a simplicity that’s elemental to the song’s message. Humbling oneself presupposes that you do not become complex in telling others how you’re doing this – and Bob sticks to his song’s titular directive. Whether he composed the additional verses (two, three, and four) that sum up what a Christian believer does to express himself is also unknown, but if he did, they too say some things powerfully, and yet plainly, about what he thought at the time. It was in perhaps the mid-1970s or a little thereafter, and Bob evidently had a great respect for God, which told him he should hold Him in awe and act humbly as a believer in order to experience His blessing (v 1). He wasn’t a weak, scared, puppy-like creature, but someone whom we could speculate learned his attitude and behavior from adult role models – parents, teachers, or church leaders, perhaps. They would have been the ones to instill in him principles regarding Jesus’ identity, including the life-and-death meaning He holds for the Christian (v.2). Everyone needs what He offers, so amply expressed in Newton’s hymn (Amazing Grace), and paraphrased by Bob (v.3). And, even as a boy, Bob looked forward to eternity (v.4) That’s really all one needs, what Bob had learned by age 12, and what he said in four short verses.      

It would be interesting to meet and know Bob Hudson. And yet, there’s still more that is intriguing about this anonymous fellow that we can deduce from his song, before we meet him. His reverence for God is also suggested in the key signature of “Humble Yourself”. It’s an E-minor chord that Hudson leans upon for his musical foundation. Interesting, huh? That’s not a routine journey for the musician, particularly a juvenile, but maybe it shows he was serious about being truly genuine with his expression – to fear God in his innermost self. What better way musically to accomplish this. Bob was being taught well, and he knew something about honoring his Creator that wasn’t so immature. Jesus said, ‘Let the children come…’ (Luke 18:15-17). Bob may have heard this too.

  

The following site indicates the author-composer was born in 1966, and the song copyrighted in 1978: http://www.hymnary.org/person/Hudson_B