I am the Bread of Life -Toolan

This hymn about the Eucharist was written by American Sister of Mercy and teacher Suzanne Toolan RSM (b 1927), based on John 6.

 It was written in 1964 for a for a San Francisco archdiocesan event, and was used widely in the Charismatic movement and in the wider church.

Sr Suzanne has revised the lyrics to an inclusive-language version which is used in recent publications, although many people still use the original version.

The song has a number of critics: the vocal range is large, some people do not approve of any song which includes Jesus' words in the first person, and the words in verses 2-3 need to be sung very carefully to fit into the tune.   Despite this, it has been translated into may different languages including Slavic language, Korean and Spanish (Yo Soy el Pan de Vida) - ref.  and it has crossed denominational boundaries to be used in a range of churches.

With irregular meter it is set to an unnamed tune. This has a 4/4 time signature, and in the key of A the first few notes are C CC A, A, E.

 

Downloads

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Choral arrangement (SATB) by Gary A. Daigle.

Downloadable sheet music for piano and 1 singer, with chords. 2 pages

Examples

Singer with guitar:

Church choir with piano and violin:

Soloist with organ and choir:

Choir with piano:

Singer with guitar, professional recording:

Large choir with electronic organ and band, recorded at an open-air cathedral-based church service:

Professional folk-choir, with guitar:

Lyrics

The lyrics are copyright so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available on this website. A rough outline is:

I am the Bread of life, he who comes to Me shall not hunger ...

Chorus (original version)
And I will raise him up,
And I will raise him up,
And I will raise him up on the last day.

2  The bread that I will give ...

3  Unless you eat ...

4  I am the Resurrection ...

5  Yes, Lord, we believe ...

See more ....

• Hymns about the Eucharist
• Folk-style hymns

KEEP IN CASE ORIGINAL IS REMOVED, BUT DO NOT DISPLAY 1 I am the Bread of life, He who comes to Me shall not hunger, He who believes in Me shall not thirst. No one can come to Me Unless the Father beckons. Chorus: And I will raise you up, And I will raise you up, And I will raise you up on the last day. 2 The bread that I will give Is My flesh for the life of the world, And he who eats of this bread, He shall live for ever, He shall live for ever. 3 Unless you eat Of the flesh of the Son of Man And drink of His blood, And drink of His blood, You shall not have life within you. 4 I am the Resurrection, I am the Life, He who believes in Me Even if he die, He shall live for ever. 5 Yes, Lord, we believe That You are the Christ, The Son of God Who has come Into the world.