No. 23 Converted Thief (A), Coh 147
Hexatonic, mode 4 A (I II — IV V VI 7)
As on the cross the Savior hung
And wept and bled and died,
He pour’d salvation on a wretch
That languish’d at his side.
His crimes with inward grief and shame,
The penitent confess’d
Then turn’d his dying eyes on Christ
And thus his prayer address’d.
The poem, given in full under ‘Converted Thief (B)’, is attributed to Stennett. William Moore of Tennessee, compiler of Columbian Harmony, lays claim to the tune, and probably did record it from oral sources. Found also SOH 9, OSH 44, GOS 140. The tune is a member of the ‘Hallelujah’ family. See the song with that title in this collection.