Its the old gunfighter's nightmare again: There's always someone who is quicker on the draw! Thanks, Gene!

Here is a little story about Mr. Stuart Hamblen.

I can't swear to the authenticity of this story because of what may be a faulty memory. But here is the gist of what I recall (my apologies to Mr. Hamblen, if I have the story wrong, but it is a good story which I think I heard on the Paul Harvey radio show). Stuart Hamblen lived a bit of the life he sang about in this song. He chased around quite a bit and drank a lot more than many thought he should. At about three o'clock one morning after having had far too much to drink, he found himself on the doorstep of a friend of his. He managed to knock on the door. His friend answered the knock and welcomed Stuart inside. The friend made some coffee and sat and talked with Stuart. Stuart said that he didn't like himself very much. He didn't like the life he was leading anymore and wanted to make a change. He and his friend talked until dawn. Somewhere in that time Stuart began a new life as a Christian. He later wrote some hymns that some of us might know and recognize: "Open Up Your Heart (and Let the Sunshine In)" "It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)" --Oh, the friend's name was Billy Graham.

Disclaimer: I offer this story only as background on this composer and not for any other purpose.

More information about Stuart Hamblen can be found here