Words: , 1898; Fillmore wrote this song upon reading of the death of the mother of American president William McKinley.
McKinley had a special relationship with his mother, who was very proud of him; in his youth, she boasted he would become a Methodist bishop (little did she know he would go somewhat farther). When “Mother McKinley” fell ill in the winter of 1897, she lived some distance from the capital, so the president had a special telegraph line installed between Washington and her home town. When word finally came of her impending death, he quickly wired back, “Tell mother I’ll be there!”
“Tell Mother I’ll Be There” has converted more men than any other song written in a decade. A song which critics have tried to cut to pieces, both words and music, but I have never found a song which would take its place. One night in Liverpool while the choir was singing “Tell Mother I’ll Be There,” one hundred and sixty men arose and publicly accepted Christ before all the people.
Evangelist Charles M. Alexander
Music: Charles M. Fillmore, arranged by .
When I was but a little child how well I recollect
How I would grieve my mother with my folly and neglect;
And now that she has gone to Heav’n I miss her tender care:
O Savior, tell my mother, I’ll be there!
Refrain
Tell mother I’ll be there, in answer to her prayer;
This message, blessèd Savior, to her bear!
Tell mother I’ll be there, Heav’n’s joys with her to share;
Yes, tell my darling mother I’ll be there.
Though I was often wayward, she was always kind and good;
So patient, gentle, loving when I acted rough and rude;
My childhood griefs and trials she would gladly with me share:
O Savior, tell my mother, I’ll be there!
Refrain
When I became a prodigal, and left the old rooftree,
She almost broke her loving heart in mourning after me;
And day and night she prayed to God to keep me in His care:
O Savior, tell my mother, I’ll be there!
Refrain
One day a message came to me, it bade me quickly come
If I would see my mother ere the Savior took her home;
I promised her, before she died, for Heaven to prepare:
O Savior, tell my mother, I’ll be there!
Refrain