Tell me the stories of Jesus
I love to hear;
Things I would ask him to tell me
If he were here;
Scenes by the wayside,
Tales by the sea,
Stories of Jesus,
Tell them to me.

By WILLIAM J. REYNOLDS

    William H. Parker, a Sunday school teacher, had a special gift for telling Bible stories to the children in his class. The boys and girls listened attentively and would often request, "Please tell us another story."
    The children who attended Sunday school in the Chelsea Street Baptist Church in the village of New Basford in Nottingham, England, were very fond of their teacher, a layman who became head of an insurance company there.
    One Sunday afternoon in 1885, the curiosity of the children inspired him to write this hymn "scenes, tales and stories" related to the life of Jesus.
    The second stanza describes the children who gathered around Jesus and praised him, saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David." The third stanza tells of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem that we celebrate on Palm Sunday.

Into the city I'd follow
The children's band,
Waving a branch of the palm tree
High in my hand;
One of his heralds,
Yes, I would sing
Loudest hosannas,
"Jesus is King!"

    The tune long associated with Parker's text was composed by Frederick Challinor. He submitted it in a competition sponsored by the National Sunday School Union. Selected as the winning tune, it was published in 1905.
    A graduate of the Royal College of Music, Challinor published more than 1,000 works.