Because He Lives Bill Gaither and Gloria Gaither, 1971

Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote Because He Lives in 1971. A CBN devotional says the song grew out of a hard stretch in the late 1960s. Gloria was expecting their third child, Bill was recovering from mononucleosis, and the couple and friends from their church faced false accusations. Gloria feared bringing a child into a troubled world. On New Year's Eve, sitting in their living room, she felt a calm she took as God's care, and she described it as life conquering death. The first verse of the song tells the gospel story of Christ's death, burial and resurrection, and the second turns to a newborn child. Bill Gaither wrote the tune, which The United Methodist Hymnal names RESURRECTION. That hymnal printed the song in 1989 and files it under Easter, eternal life and forgiveness. Wikipedia lists it as the 1974 Gospel Music Association Dove Award for Song of the Year.