Palm Sunday Processional songs

Ah, the annual Palm Sunday processional—children lined up eagerly at the back of the church, palm branches in hand, just waiting for the parade to begin.  When I was a child we made our own palm branches out of green construction paper.  These days most churches order palm fronds from local floral shops or church supply stores.

I’ve always found choosing a good song for the procession to be a bit challenging.  The song needs to be upbeat, energetic, and well known enough that people can sing and still take in the processional. Carl Tuttle’s popular Hosanna worked for a number of years, but it wore out its welcome a while back. 

Over the years I’ve used a variety of others:  Steve Bell’s arrangement of Ride On, King Jesus is excellent, though you may need a worship team or small ensemble to sing the verses.  (You can see the text and listen to Steve’s arrangement on this site.)  

Bell’s Holy, Lord also works well. The lyrics are on the CCLI website  or on Steve Bell’s website. You can find the guitar chords at this site (#43), and listen to it on YouTube. 

Clinton Utterbach’s Blessed be the name of the Lord would also work well for a procession, too. It’s been around for quite a while, but that might be a good thing in this case.  If people know it well they can sing and still be able to enjoy watching the children.

A number of years ago, the traditional African song Sanna, Sannanina became popular. ("Sanna" is an African version of "Hosanna.") If your congregation hasn’t used it yet, I highly recommend it.  You can access the music online in this collection (#4). 

I recently came across another song that might work well:  Halala by Malcolm Du Plessis and Victor Masondo.  CCLI Song #1042695.  If you’ve got hand-drummers in your congregation (d’jembe, cajone, bongos, congas, etc.), pull them in!  You can find a lead sheet and guitar tabs on the CCLI website. 

Other possibilities?  Take a look at Randy Rigby’s Sing Hosanna. (CCLI Song #2188654.  Lead sheet and guitar tabs available on the CCLI website.) 

Or Hosanna, We Sing! by Claire Cloninger and Robert Sterling. (CCLI Song #4646259.  Lead sheet and guitar tabs available on the CCLI website.) 

Another possibility might be Hosanna! by Chris Christensen and Thierry Ostrini.  (CCLI Song #1601160. A lead sheet and guitar tabs are available on the CCLI website.) 

You might also be interested in taking a look at my Hosanna in the Highest.

If you are part of an intergenerational congregation that enjoys a wide diversity of music styles in worship, you might consider paring one of these more contemporary song suggestions with a traditional Palm Sunday hymn – for example Hosanna, Loud Hosanna or All Glory, Laud and Honor.

If you know of other songs that might work well with a Palm Sunday processional, I'd love to hear about them!