Who Wrote the Melody?
William Mackay’s 1863 hymnal collection clearly states that he wrote his own tunes to accompany his texts, including “Revive Us Again.” The tune exhibits characteristics common to gospel and revival tunes of the era, such as a simple chord structure. Furthermore, the irregular meter of the text, mixing dactylic and trochaic patterns, almost certainly indicates Mackay composed the tune especially for his lyrics. Despite being frequently misattributed to composer John J. Husband, who died decades before the tune’s emergence, the evidence strongly points to Mackay as the creator of both the words and music for this beloved hymn.