On a hill
far a way
stood an old
rug ged cross,
The a em blem of suf f’ring and shame;
And I love
that old cross
where the dear
est and best
For a world of lost sin ners was slain.
So I’ll cher ish the old rug ged cross,
Till my tro phies at last I lay down;
I will cling
to the old rug ged cross,
And ex change it one day for a crown.
O that old
rug ged cross,
so de spised
by the world,
Has a won drous at trac tion for me;
For the dear
Lamb of God
left His glo
ry a bove
To a bear it to dark Cal va ry.
I’ll cher ish the old rug ged cross,
Till my tro phies at last I lay down;
I will cling
to the old rug ged cross,
And ex change it one day for a crown.
O that crown.
This page shows “The Old Rugged Cross” by Rev. George Bennard in our color-coded kid songbook view — every note is colored by pitch (red C, orange D, yellow E, green F, blue G, purple A, pink B) and the lyrics sit directly under each note, so children can sing along while they play. The song is in the key of G at 90 BPM, a slightly more challenging arrangement — practice each phrase slowly first.