To the Desert Jesus Came

This hymn for Lent, with a specific verse for Ash Wednesday, was written by Canadian folk singer / song-writer and music-animator Linnea Good (ref).

It was first published in 1992 by Borealis Music (Good's own label), and sheet music is still available for purchase here. They hymn was also included in Voices United: The Hymn and Worship Book of The United Church of Canada, published in 1996 by The United Church Publishing House - still available from their website.

It is set to a tune, also by Good, which has been called TOGETHER THROUGH THE VALLEY. This has a 4/4 time signature. In the key of Eb, the first few notes of the melody are C DE G B A G.

Image from Christ in the Wilderness,
Ivan Kramskoi (1837–1887)

Downloads

No downloadable versions have been found, of either performances or the sheet music. If you know where to find one, please leave a message in the Comments box near the bottom of the page.

Examples

Small choir with organ, recorded live in a church service:

Lyrics

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

1 To the desert Jesus came, to wrestle and to seek God's way.

2 In the desert we may find the mystery of who we are ...

3 From the ashes to the hill, we'll travel on our Lenten road ...