We’ve come across so many gospel songs on the subject of heaven, and they never fail to rouse our spirits – one of these is “In My Father’s House.”
It was originally recorded in 1954 by the American southern gospel quartet Blackwood Brothers, making it one of the only two songs the group recorded between 1953 and 1956. The other was “I Have But One Goal.”
Six years later, the King of Rock n’ Roll recorded a slower version and released it off his 1960 album His Hand in Mine. Ever since then, “In My Father’s House” has become one of America’s gospel favorites.
A Song That Will Give You Hope in Life After Death
Written by a blind singer, Aileen Hanks, “In My Father’s House” is a spiritual song referring to the King James Version of the Bible. In verse John 14:2, it says, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
This gospel song describes how “In My Father’s House are many mansions,” and how God prepares a mansion in heaven. It also discusses how Jesus died on the cross to “bear my sorrow” and “so souls like you may have new life.”
“Do not shun the Saviors love, from up in glory, or you won’t be there to sing the gospel story. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If you’re true then to this land, you’ll surely go,” the song ends.
For You
Later, Elvis Presley rearranged the song and recorded it. Presley was said to be especially fond of playing hymns on his gilded piano in Graceland’s Music Room, “talking about home as heaven and the mansion as a mark of God’s favor.”
He grew up attending Assembly of God church, and the music there was instrumental in inspiring him. With more than ninety albums under his belt, it was no longer a surprise when Presley released – even written – several gospel songs.
Early in Presley’s career, he performed many well-known gospel songs, and in 1967, he released an album called How Great Thou Art named after the popular hymn. This helped Presley win his first Grammy Award, for Best Sacred Performance.
This made music critic Dave Marsh described Presley as “arguably the greatest white gospel singer of his time [and] really the last rock & roll artist to make gospel as vital component of his musical personality as his secular songs.”
You can listen to Presley’s version of “In My Father’s House” in the video below.
