No Fancy Preaching in “Me and Jesus” by the Possum

“Me and Jesus, we got our own thing going/Me and Jesus, we got it all worked out/Me and Jesus, we got our own thing going
We don’t need anybody to tell us what it’s all about”

While we do not encourage DIY Christianity and certainly do not promote animosity to churches, “Me and Jesus” is a good reminder that each one’s relationship with Jesus is always personal. It is not something that your church or loads of preaching could rub on you and voila, you are now a bona fide Christian! Since it is a relationship, it is something that you need to invest time and effort in to make it work. If only one does all the works, then no relationship is truly being built. It takes two to tango remember?

So sing and dance again with the “Me and Jesus” by the Possum. I do not just love his rendition. I intentionally chose him because of the transparency he showed in striving to get cleaned from all his addictions especially booze.

SONG BACKGROUND

Songwriter Tom T. Hall grew up a church kid. His father was a preacher, so he had been taught a lot concerning the faith. He also read and did studies about the origins of religion. Guess he had been exposed to too much knowledge. The downside? He got disillusioned and horrified when he discovered the many monstrous acts committed in the name of religion. They did not sway him from still liking Jesus though and he remained inspired writing faith-themed songs.

He was the first to record the song in February 1972. It was part of his album called, We All Got Together and…
Released as a single, it landed top 8 on the Billboard Country Charts. Months later, George Jones and Tammy Wynette released their version of “Me and Jesus.” Other notable covers were made by Roy Clark, Brad Paisley, and Sundance Head.