Lyrics: Anna Warner wrote the first four verses printed below. Several authors have added more verses, including Anglican priest David Rutherford McGuire in 1971.
The chorus was added by William Bradbury.

Music: William B. Bradbury.

Theme: The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. I Timothy 1:14

Additional verses and variations:
Jesus loves me, this I know,
as he loved so long ago,
taking children on his knee,
saying, “Let them come to me.”

Jesus loves me when I’m good,
When I do the things I should,
Jesus loves me when I’m bad,
Though it makes Him very sad.

Jesus loves me still today,
Walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give
Light and love to all who live.

Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
If I love Him when I die,
He will take me home on high.

Jesus loves me! See His grace!
On the cross He took my place.
There He suffered and He died,
That I might be glorified.

Jesus loves me! God’s own Son
Over sin the vict’ry won.
When I die, saved by His grace,
I shall see Him face to face.

Jesus loves me! He is near.
He is with His Church so dear.
And the Spirit He has sent
By His Word and Sacrament.

The lyrics to “Jesus Loves Me” first appeared in a novel written by Anna Warner’s sister Susan. Mr. Bradbury came across the lyrics and added music and a chorus.

Amy Carmichael, the Irish missionary to India, was converted after hearing “Jesus Loves Me” at a children’s mission in Yorkshire, England.

Wikipedia: “In 1943 in the Solomon Islands, John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 was rammed and sunk. Islanders Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana who found Kennedy and the survivors remembers that when they rode on PT boats to retrieve the survivors, the Marines sang this song with the natives, who learned it from missionaries.”

John Stott: “The love of Christ is an immense subject, shallow enough for a child to paddle in; “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.” But deep enough for giants to wade in: “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ!” “the love of Christ is ‘broad’ enough to compass all mankind (especially Jews and Gentiles, the theme of these chapters), ‘long’ enough to last for eternity, ‘deep’ enough to reach the most degraded sinner, and ‘high’ enough to exalt him to heaven.”

Glimpses of Christian History: “When Mao Tse Tung founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Christian church was severely persecuted, with little information coming to the outside world. In 1972 some Americans received an unusual message from China–that the “This I know” people were well! The Chinese authorities thought the message nonsensical, so they let it through. The Americans clearly understood the reference to Anna Warner’s simple hymn–“Jesus Loves Me.”

One Sunday at the close of a church service at Swiss L’Abri, Francis Schaeffer asked the congregation to sing, “Jesus Loves Me.” He smiled and added, “Some of you may realize that this is my favorite hymn.”

And on it goes. As a “Sunbeam” I earned to sing the chorus to “Jesus Loves Me” in Spanish, in Chinese, in Japanese, and probably in several more languages. I don’t remember any of the language versions except for the Spanish, but I do remember the point my teachers were trying to make: the gospel of Jesus, who loves us all, is for all people everywhere.

Ms. Warner’s little song continues to preach the gospel around the world in all sorts of languages and in many, many places. It’s been parodied, mocked, translated, taught, added to, revised, and sung all over the earth. This simple little hymn with even simpler chorus captures the essence of the gospel and, especially in Ms. Warner’s second and fourth verses, presents who Jesus is and what He did for us in terms so simple that any child, or child-like adult, who is willing to listen can understand and respond.