He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands

About this arrangement

A spiritual that is nearly all one shape: “He’s got the” is a three-quaver pickup, G G E, before each line, and “whole world” is a long G that slides down through E to C over a slur. Bar 3 (“whole wide world”) sinks to the B below middle C, the one note outside C position; let the thumb reach down for it. The left hand plays a bass note and a chord, C and G7, with a plain C chord under the long last note.

Practice tip: The pickup is the key: say “He’s got the” quickly and land on “whole” with the beat. Hold the last note for all four beats.

The words

He's got the whole world in His hands, He's got the whole wide world in His hands, He's got the whole world in His hands, He's got the whole world in His hands.

A short history

“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” is an African-American spiritual. It was first printed in 1927 in “Spirituals Triumphant, Old and New”, a collection edited by Edward Boatner for the National Baptist Convention, but it was being sung well before that.

It is a list song: after the whole world come the wind and the rain, the sun and the moon, the little bitty baby, you and me, brother, you and me, sister, and everybody here, each one held safe in the same hands, so singers can add verses for as long as they like.

In 1957 a thirteen-year-old English schoolboy, Laurie London, recorded it, and his version reached number one in the United States the next year; Mahalia Jackson sang it around the world at the same time.

Quick facts

Tune

Traditional (American spiritual)

Key

C major

Time signature

4/4

Length

8 bars and a pickup

Tempo

With a swing, crotchet = 104

Difficulty

Level 3: Notes below middle C (piece 33 of 201)

Type

Spiritual

Hands

Both: melody in the right hand, chords in the left

Copyright

Public domain tune; arrangement by Digital Greenhouse, free for personal and classroom use

Questions and answers