John P. Kee - Standing In the Need Lyrics

John P. Kee sings the well-known spiritual "Standing in the Need of Prayer", a song that began in the Black church tradition and has been passed down by ear for generations. Its message is plain and personal. The singer does not point at a mother, a father, a preacher or a sinner, but says again and again, "It's me, oh Lord." That refusal to hand the need to someone else is the whole confession of the piece.

The verses name real weights: a rough road, a heavy load, a long night and a sense of having been wrong. Each one is answered with the same refrain, which turns every hardship into a reason to pray. Help is asked for, direction is asked for, and no excuse is offered.

The repetition suits congregational singing, because anyone in the room can answer the lead line without a hymnal. Small groups, choirs and church services still use it as an honest call to humble prayer, and this lyric page keeps the words in the order of the recorded version.