Founds wrote the song during his morning devotion, while reading the scriptures on his computer monitor and watching television. He plucked his guitar thinking about the "cycle of redemption", comparing it with the
water cycle.
You came from heaven to earth, to show the way From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky
Lord I lift your name on high
Founds performed the song as a
worship leader in his church. It was picked up by
Maranatha! Music and initially recorded by the Maranatha! Singers followed by the Praise Band.
Promise Keepers performed the song in English and Spanish in their drives.
Since the 1990s, it has been one of the most popular Christian songs. In the United States,
Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) reported Lord I Lift Your Name on High as the most popular song used in churches every year from 1997 to 2003. Currently it is No. 24 on the list.[1] CCLI UK report it as the fifth most popular printed, projected or recorded song in mid-2006.[2] In Australia this song was the seventh most used song by the beginning of 2007[3]
There have been many interpretations of the song by many artists in all styles:
gospel,
R&B,
soul,
rock,
dance,
reggae,
hip hop,
rap,
soca,
ska,
punk,
a cappella amongst others and has been translated to a number of languages and recorded in a number of countries.
Versions
In 1989, the first recorded version was by the
Maranatha! Singers on the label
Maranatha! Music. The recording was done on the album Double Praise 12[4] of the Praise series and was released on the Maranatha! Music and distributed by WORD Inc. The recording was done in classic style.
In 2001, Christian Contemporary band
SONICFLOOd released a live rock version of the song on their album Sonicpraise. It was recorded in 1999 during the
Flevo Festival
In 2004, South African-UK musician and singer
Jonathan Butler released a soul cover version on his worship album "The Worship Project."[5][6]
In 2005, the Christian pop group
Worship Jamz recorded a pop version in their self-titled album Worship Jamz
In 2009,
Coffey Anderson performed the song on his album Worship Unplugged Vol. 1
Language versions
In 2005, the song was done as "Yo Wuti" in
Lingala by the Dutch-Congolese band
Makoma. It appeared on the Makoma album Na Nzambe Te, Bomoyi Te (also known as No Jesus, No Life).[7]
The song was also translated into:
Czech – "Tvoje jméno vyznávám" (I profess Your name)
Cantonese - "讓我高舉頌讚祢" (May I Lift and Praise You)[8]
Dutch – "Heer, ik prijs uw grote naam" (Lord, I praise Your great name)
Finnish – "Herra sua mä korotan" (Lord, I exalt You)
French – "Je loue ton nom, Eternel" (I praise your name, Eternal One)
German – "Herr, dein Name sei erhöht" (Lord, Your name be exalted)
Portuguese – "O Teu nome exaltarei" (I will exalt your name)