The Kingsmen - Look For Me At Jesus Feet Lyrics
Released: 18 Dec 2020
Lyrics
If I leave this world of sorrow
Sometime before you do.
Just look for me in Heaven
And we'll talk the ages through.
But if at first, you fail to see me
Let me tell you where I'm a gonna be.
I'll be thanking Christ, my Savior
For saving a wretch just like me.
But if you should reach that city
Before my time has come.
Just perhaps, you would like to greet me
When my race, my race down here is run.
Well you can wait for I'll soon be coming
Across life's ebbing sea.
And I'll tell you now, my brother
Just where you can wait for me.
Don't lwait 'neath the gates of pearl.
Don't wait on the streets of gold.
Don't wait by the walls of jasper.
Nor among the many sights untold,
For I've been longing and I've been waiting,
For the Precious, Holy One to see.
And there I'll be through the countless ages,
Look for me at Jesus' feet.
For I've been longing and I've been waiting,
For the Precious, Holy One to see.
And there I'll be through the countless ages,
Look for me at Jesus' feet.
Video
The Kingsmen - "Look For Me At Jesus' Feet" - 1987
Meaning & Inspiration
There’s a specific, aching warmth to the Southern Gospel tradition that hits differently when you’re listening to a group like The Kingsmen. This isn't the slick, stadium-ready production of modern CCM; it’s rooted in a time when the music was designed for church pews and Sunday afternoon fellowships. It feels lived-in, like a worn-out flannel shirt or a family dinner where you know everyone’s stories. When you hear that harmony, it isn’t just about vocal precision—it’s about the conviction that heaven is a tangible, real destination rather than a theological abstraction.
"Look for me at Jesus' feet."
That line catches me off guard every time. We spend so much energy anticipating the "sights untold" of the New Jerusalem—the walls of jasper, the streets of gold, the spectacle of it all. But the song pivots away from the geography of glory. It suggests that if you’re looking for someone you love in the afterlife, you shouldn't scan the crowds or admire the architecture of the city. You have to go to the source.
It reminds me of the scene in Revelation 5 where the focus shifts from the majesty of the throne to the Lamb who was slain. The entire weight of eternity seems to collapse into a single posture: kneeling. There’s a beautiful, humbling tension there. We talk about the rewards of heaven—the rest, the reunion, the end of sorrow—but this song insists that the primary act of heaven is adoration. If you want to find the people who really got it, the ones who truly understood the Gospel, you won't find them exploring the mansions. You’ll find them at the feet of the One who made the journey possible.
It strikes me as profoundly human. We spend our lives here looking for people, trying to coordinate our schedules, hoping to catch someone before they depart. But the lyrics offer a different kind of "wait." It’s a wait defined by gratitude, a reaction to the line, "thanking Christ, my Savior / For saving a wretch just like me."
That’s the anchor. Without that acknowledgment—the "wretch" part—the rest of the song is just sentimental longing. But by grounding the hope of heaven in the reality of personal brokenness, the song avoids becoming a hollow fantasy. It forces you to ask: What am I really waiting for? Is it just the relief of escaping "this world of sorrow," or is it the Person who makes the arrival worth the trip?
I’m left with that unfinished thought. We’re so busy running our races, "life’s ebbing sea" pulling at our heels, that we often define our hope by what we’ll get out of heaven—no more pain, no more distance. But The Kingsmen are pointing to something more demanding. They’re suggesting that the reunion we’re all secretly hoping for won’t happen until we’ve both spent enough time at His feet to recognize Him first. It makes the "waiting" here on earth feel a little less lonely, and a lot more purposeful.