Sin Is to Blame

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Yonder a man in the prison dwells

Author: Haldor Lillenas
Tune: [Yonder a man in the prison dwells]
Published in 2 hymnals

Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 Yonder a man in the prison dwells.
Sin is to blame; sin is to blame.
Sadly his story of woe he tells;
Sin is to blame for all.

Chorus:
Sin is to blame for all sorrow;
Sin is to blame for all woe.
Heartbreak and pain,
Hopes that are vain,
Sin is to blame, we know.

2 Here is a mother without a home.
Sin is to blame; sin is to blame.
Friendless, forsaken and all alone;
Sin is to blame for all. [Chorus]

3 Here there are children who cry for bread.
Sin is to blame; sin is to blame.
Father is drunk and mother dead;
Sin is to blame for all. [Chorus]

4 Living in sin in her gilded cell,
Sin is to blame; sin is to blame;
Some mother’s girl will her story tell,
Sin is to blame for all. [Chorus]

Source: Inspiring Gospel Solos and Duets No. 2 #28

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Author: Haldor Lillenas

Rv Haldor Lillenas DMus Norway/USA 1885-1959. Born at Stord, near Bergen, Norway, his father sold their 15 acre farm in Norway and emigrated to the U.S., buying a farm in Colton, SD. After he built a sod house, the family (wife and three chldren) also came to SD in 1887. They moved to Astoria, Oregon in 1889, where Lillenas learned English and began writing song lyrics at an early age. In 1900 the family moved again to Roseville, MN, where he worked as a farm laborer and began attending a Lutheran high school at Hawick, MN. He sold a few songs at age 19. At age 21 he began writing more songs, encouraged by some earlier ones becoming popular (“He set me free” was one). His mother died in 1906 and his father returned to ND, but Li… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Yonder a man in the prison dwells
Title:	Sin Is to Blame
Author:	Haldor Lillenas
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	Sin is to blame for all sorrow