The Old Rugged Cross

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About This Work

If you look inside any church, you are likely to find a Christian Cross. Typically it is made of stone, polished hardwood, some type of polymer or metal, and occasionally gilded with gold leaf. Very rarely is it a cross of roughly hewn timbers, which is odd because Jesus was not crucified on a cross of polished hardwood, polymer or metal, and certainly not a cross gilded with gold leaf.
Around a hundred years ago, an American called George Bennard spent quite a while contemplating this anomaly, and came up with a new hymn: "The Old Rugged Cross".

Hymn writing was one of his passions - he wrote over 300 - and The Old Rugged Cross became one of the 20th century's most popular songs, with over 20 million copies sold in the first 30 years. The reason for this spectacular success is probably because of its catchy tune and words that are easy to learn. The music fits the lyrics so well because Bennard wrote the words and music together.

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