Let Us Break Bread Together
African American spiritual used as a Communion hymn: breaking bread and drinking the cup together.
The words are public domain. We print a hymn only after checking it word for word against a dated old printing, and this one hasn’t been checked yet. Hymnary has it now.
“Let Us Break Bread Together” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
"Let Us Break Bread Together" (first line "Let us break bread together on our knees") invites the people to kneel together, eat the bread, drink the cup and praise God, asking for the Lord's mercy.
It is sung at Holy Communion, which rests on Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples (Matthew 26, 1 Corinthians 11). It is often sung on Maundy Thursday and at any Communion service.
It is an African American spiritual from oral tradition. It first appeared in print in the 1920s, in collections from St. Helena Island, South Carolina, and in James Weldon and J. Rosamond Johnson's 1926 book of spirituals.
For musicians and planners
| Words | African American spiritual (traditional), 1925 | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Tune | BREAK BREAD TOGETHER (LET US BREAK BREAD) · African American spiritual (traditional), 1926 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only). The words are not transcribed here yet.
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.