Woman Why Art Thou Loosed

A Practical Guide to Woman, Why Art Thou Loosed

I ran into this hymn a few years ago while organizing sheet music for a small church choir. Someone requested it for a spring service and I spent about three hours tracking down a reliable arrangement. The hymn is based on Luke 8:48, where Jesus addresses the woman who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years. The traditional opening line is actually "Woman, why art thou loosed?" and it has become a staple in many gospel and traditional hymn collections. The song exists in multiple arrangements. The most common version you will find is set in a straightforward hymn meter, usually 8.7.8.7 D, which makes it adaptable to various melodies. The original tune most associated with this text is "Dix," though some choirs prefer "Franconia" or simply write their own arrangement. I have found that the Dix tune works well for congregational singing, while the Franconia setting tends to feel a bit more lifted and upbeat.

Woman Why Art Thou Loosed

Here is the standard text most people use: Woman, why art thou loosed? Tell what great thing is done for thee.
Jesus once did look upon me; Now I tell the world He’s free. He Who spoke the healing word,
Spake it unto me; and, lo, I was made whole;

When I came to Him in grief,
Sorrow’s fathom gave way;
Now I stand before His face,
Nevermore to stray. I used to keep this song filed under "gospel standards" in my music library, but honestly it sits somewhere between traditional hymnody and contemporary worship. That middle ground is exactly why it shows up in so many different contexts. Some choirs arrange it as a four-part SATB piece with a simple piano accompaniment. Others add strings or a full band depending on the congregation's style. The practical issue I hit most often is finding a clean PDF or sheet music version online. A lot of the results are scanned images from old hymnals that are barely readable. The ones that are digitally typeset tend to be behind paywalls on sites like Sheet Music Plus or Heritage Hymns. If you just need the lyrics and chord symbols for personal use, the text above is the standard version and you can source it from public domain hymnals like The United Methodist Hymnal or The Baptist Hymnal 1991.

For audio references, I usually point people toward the Harry Simeone Chorale recording from the 1960s. It is dated but clear. More recently, many contemporary gospel choirs have covered it, including versions by the Winans and Andraé Crouch arrangements. If you are putting together a performance and need to hear how different tempo and key choices affect the song, those recordings give you a solid range to work from. One thing beginners miss when arranging or performing this is the dynamic arc. The text moves from a question ("why art thou loosed?") to a testimony ("now I tell the world"). Setting both sections at the same volume flattens the message. I usually start the first stanza quietly, bring the second stanza up to mezzo-forte, and let the final lines carry into a full sound. It takes about two minutes of rehearsal to get the choir to buy into that progression, but it makes the performance land properly. If you are looking to download sheet music, the simplest path is to check the Cyber Hymnal or Hymnary.org, both of which offer free PDF downloads in various arrangements. Some community church websites also host arrangements under Creative Commons licenses. Just be careful about the key signatures on user-uploaded files. I once printed a version that turned out to be transposed three semitones sharp from what the choir book specified, and we had to re-sing from the wrong page during rehearsal.

The song is in the public domain in most of its forms, so there are no licensing concerns for live performance or recording. That is one of the advantages of working with older hymn texts. You can arrange, adapt, and record without clearing rights or paying fees. I have used this piece in memorial services, revival meetings, and standard Sunday morning worship. It works wherever the theme of healing and freedom fits. The text is short enough to stand alone as a single anthem, or you can pair it with something like "Heal My Heart" or "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" for a longer set. Either way, it is a solid choice if you need a hymn that is recognizable but not overplayed in contemporary services.