Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam
"Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" is a song originally recorded by the Scottish alternative band the Vaselines for their EP Dying for It. It is a parody on the Christian children's hymn "I'll Be a Sunbeam", which has the opening line "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam." The Vaselines re-released the song in 1992 on the compilation albums and All the Stuff and More.
The song was little-known outside the indie-pop scene until Nirvana recorded the song in November 1993 for their live acoustic album MTV Unplugged in New York, re-titling it "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam". Two more versions of this rendition of the song were released on Nirvana's 2004 box set With the Lights Out. This included an acoustic version recorded in Europe in 1994, and a live electric performance on the DVD section of the box-set. Another version was released in 2011 as a bonus track on the 20th anniversary edition of Nevermind.
In the version featured on the MTV Unplugged in New York album, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain refers to the song as "a rendition of an old Christian song, I think. But we do it the Vaselines' way."
Elvis Costello uses the line "Maybe Jesus wants you for a sunbeam" in the song "Alibi" from his 2002 album When I Was Cruel.
On the deluxe edition of their 2014 album Bleach House, Phillip Boa And The Voodooclub released a cover of "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam".
