Length 3:14 | Released March 19, 1971 | |
Recorded December 1970 - February 1971 Genre | ||
"Hymn 43" is a song by British progressive rock group Jethro Tull. It is off their Aqualung album and was released as a single.
The song reached 91 on the Billboard Hot 100. Songwriter Ian Anderson described the song as "a blues for Jesus, about the gory, glory seekers who use his name as an excuse for a lot of unsavoury things. You know, 'Hey Dad, it's not my fault — the missionaries lied.'" Sean Murphy of PopMatters wrote that, "For “Hymn 43” Anderson sets his sights on the U.S.A. and in quick order sets about decimating the hypocrisy and myth-making of religion and the new religion, entertainment." George Starostin opined that, "'Hymn 43' may not be great, but, once again, the riff is an absolute classic."
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in the time signature of common time. It is composed in the key of D Major with Anderson's vocal range spanning from G4 to Eb6.
The song was later included in the video game Rock Band 2 as downloadable content.