Come to Jesus, come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now,
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.
Subsequent verses are built up on: He will save you; O, believe him; He is able; He is willing; He’ll receive you; Call upon him; He will hear you; Look unto him; He’ll forgive you; He will cleanse you; He will clothe you; Jesus loves you; Don’t reject him; and, Only trust him. A negro version of tune and text is in Slave Songs, No. 85.
Was ‘Come to Jesus’ a tune importation from Germany? Erk and Böhme (Deutscher Liederhort, vol. iii., p. 735) bring several variants of what is called an “altes Fastenlied.” I reproduce one of them:
Es sangen drei Engel einen süßen Gesang,
sie sangen, daß es Gott in dem Himmel erklang.
The first part of the German tune is almost identical with the corresponding part of the one, heard widely among American students, with such texts as ‘O My Darling Clementine’ and ‘Found a Horseshoe Just Now’—evident parodies on the ‘Come to Jesus’ tune and words. The second part of the German melody is strikingly like that of the above mentioned negro version in Slave Songs.