IF I CAN HELP SOMEBODY
A. Bazel Androzzo
If I can cheer somebody with a word or song,
If I can show somebody he is trav’ling wrong,
Then my living shall not be in vain.
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REFRAIN
Then my living shall not be in vain,
Then my living shall not be in vain;
If I can help somebody as I pass along,
Then my living shall not be in vain.
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If I can do my duty as a good man ought,
If I can bring back beauty to a world up wrought,
If I can spread love’s message that the Master taught,
Then my living shall not be in vain.
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REFRAIN:
Words and Music by A. Bazel Androzzo
The Arizona composer Alma Bazel Androzzo was living in Chicago when she wrote her best known inspirational song, “If I Can Help Somebody”. It was published there and might have achieved only modest success had it not been for some servicemen who brought it to England at the end of World War II and sang it there. Ralph Boosey, the famous music publisher, heard it, secured the right to it, and helped make the song an international hit. A few of the varied and particularly compelling recorded versions are those of Gracie Fields, the English vaudeville star; George “Bev” Shea, soloist with Billy Graham; Tennessee Ernie Ford; Doris Day; Mahalia Jackson; Billy Eckstine, and the duet version by Dale Evans and Roy Rogers.