1. Home
  2.  » 
  3. Song List
  4.  » The Lord is My Shepherd

The Lord is My Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep…”

John 10:14 KJV

About the Song

Words by James Montgomery (Based on Psalm 23), alt.
Music and additional text by Sally DeFord

There are a few hymns that I can’t remember ever not loving. This is one of them, though I’ve begun to realize it’s the words I love and not necessarily the traditional tune. This original melody begged to be written–though it does echo one line of the familiar hymn.

The accompaniments are nearly identical, but there are a few modifications in the choral version to accommodate the harmonies. The violin obbligato can be used with either arrangement. The solo score is provided both with and without the obbligato included. The choral score includes the violin, and a “vocal parts only” score which is just that—and only two pages long.

The recording uses the Eb-Gb version.

Lyrics

The Lord is my Shepherd, no want shall I know
He leadeth my soul where the still waters flow
And safe in green pastures He maketh me rest
Restores me when wand’ring, redeems when oppressed

Through the valley and shadow of death though I stray
Thy rod shall defend me, thy staff be my stay
Since thou art my guardian, no evil I fear
No harm can befall with my comforter near

Thy mercy will follow me all of my days
And in thine own house thou preparest my place
With blessings unmeasured my cup runneth o’er
Oh what shall I ask of thy providence more?

If you have questions, please check the FAQ
If you don't find your answer there, feel free to post your question here. 🙂

18 Comments

  1. Mj

    Just PLAY it. You can DO it…no sheet music required. Then play your own songs. Make them up as you go…much more FUN!

    Reply
  2. Wayde

    I was listening to the accompaniment recording and I thought I heard a cello part. I took a look at the sheet music but I couldn’t find a cello part. Is there somewhere else I should be looking to find the sheet music for that or is it possible to obtain it some way?

    Reply
  3. Delaney

    I sang your solo arrangement of The Lord is My Shepherd last night at my stake conference. I had at least four people come up and ask me who the composer was because they said it was the most beautiful version of this song that they had ever heard. I have to agree with them. Thank you so much for your incredible, spiritual, and inspiring music that you share so freely with all of us music lovers!

    Reply
  4. Rachael

    This is a beautiful arrangement of this song!

    Reply
  5. Doris

    Beautiful! Thank you so much for the good music!

    Reply
  6. Kjirsten McOmber

    This is such a great song!!! But when I was practicing on my violin I was listening to the words of the music and reading the music and the singer was singing higher than the music was transposed. I checked all of the sheet music but they were all the same as the one I had printed off!

    Reply
    • sallydeford

      True. I’m glad you mentioned it. Maybe if people don’t read my warning up top, they’ll read yours! 😉

      Reply
  7. Shellie

    This is THE best arrangement ever! We could feel the spirit every time our choir practiced it! Thank you.

    Reply
  8. Mark Beauchene

    First – thank you for the depth and breadth of your work. I have sung many of your pieces in church choirs over the years. The arrangements are wonderful, and I find the parts to be very , well, learnable.
    Second – have you ever considered including .midi files on your site? I don’t play much, but as a techie I could help our choir by making practice .mp3s, one for each part, with the accompaniment and the other parts in the background. I have DAW software and can do a lot with a .midi file.

    Reply
  9. Betty

    Thank you for once again for revealing some of the loveliness of your heart and your Savior!
    God bless you, Sally, for all the good you do with your music!

    Reply
  10. Nephi Reyes

    Thank you for sharing your talent God has given you. I really hope I could be your apprentice. Thank you very much.

    Reply
  11. Sister Moe

    Dear Sally,

    I am a missionary serving in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission. I was trying to find a piece to sing on Easter this Sunday and came across this. It’s so beautiful! Thank you so much for this!

    Reply
  12. Mary Sue Smith

    I LOVE this arrangement! It’s so lovely and it’s interesting to sing as a choir. The spirit of the words really shines through the melody. The violin part is beautiful, but simple enough to be played by young women in our ward. I’m excited to work on this piece with the ward choir and they love it, too. Thank you!

    Reply
  13. Ashley

    Beautiful! I LOVE how it is sort of Celtic sounding. And I can sing it in sacrament meeting since it is a hymn. Keep ’em coming!

    Reply
  14. Dolores

    I am renaming our ward choir to the Sally Deford choir. We love singing your beautiful music. Thank you so much for what you contribute to lovely easy music.

    Reply
    • Sally DeFord

      Goodness! You wouldn’t be so cruel would you? 😉

      Reply
  15. Brenda Sarmiento

    It’s so nice. I love it! Thank you for making beautiful music. May God bless you more!

    Reply
  16. David McDonald

    Dear Sally

    Absolutely beautiful. Thank you.

    David

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Mark Beauchene Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Don't see what you want here? Try one of these great sites:

  • Sheet Music Plus

    They have just about everything, secular and sacred–usually at a discount.

  • Free Sacred Sheet Music

    Free, downloadable religious music. 4500+ selections. Publish your own music there as well!

(Affiliate links. Use them if you’d like to help fund this site.)