"Just a Closer Walk with Thee" is a traditional gospel song and jazz standard that has been performed and recorded by many artists.
Performed as either an instrumental or vocal, "A Closer Walk" is perhaps the most frequently played number in the hymn and dirge section of traditional New Orleans jazz funerals.
The title and lyrics of the song allude to the Biblical passage from 2 Corinthians 5:7 which states, "We walk by faith, not by sight"[1] and James 4:8, "Come near to God and He will come near to you.
Circumstantial evidence strongly suggested it dated back to southern African-American churches of the nineteenth century, possibly even prior to the Civil War, as some personal African American histories recall "slaves singing as they worked in the fields a song about walking by the Lord's side.
Morris wrote down the words and music and published the song “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” that year, 1940, adding a few lyrics of his own to provide more breadth.
[11] Presley's studio version can be heard on Just a Closer Walk with Thee (2000) (Czech CD on Memory label).