‘Mary Did You Know’ Writer ‘So Grateful’ for Song’s Impact on Listeners

Published: December 8, 2023

‘Mary Did You Know’ Writer ‘So Grateful’ for Song’s Impact on Listeners

By Movieguide® Contributor

Singer-songwriter Mark Lowry is sharing the story behind “Mary Did You Know” and what the song has meant to him over the years.

“I’m a one-hit wonder,” Lowry said during an episode of Kirk Cameron’s “Takeaways.” “I’m telling you, if the Lord sat me down and said, ‘Mark, you can leave one thing behind’…I would have chosen this song.”

Lowry explained that he initially wrote the lyrics for a Christmas production at his church.

“And so once this whole musical thing was over for my church, I went back and revisited that [idea],” he said, adding, “Most of the questions I have for Mary didn’t make the song because they didn’t rhyme.”

When asked about the impact “Mary Did You Know” has had on listeners over the years, Lowry said he hopes it “has made them think about Jesus.”

“Because the song really isn’t about Mary,” he explained. “It’s about the baby and what He will do and now, looking back, what He has done,” adding, “I’m just so grateful.”

Lowry reiterated that point in an interview with Religion News, calling his hit a “miracle of a song.”

“I hope the song makes people think about the baby Jesus,” he continued. “I hope it sends them running to Luke 1 to find out what Mary knew.”

The artist spoke about his dedication to spreading his faith through his work in an interview with the Montgomery Advertiser.

“My one goal, my one thread that runs through everything I’ve done…the thread is that a man rose from the dead,” Lowry explained. “That is the thing that I’m trying to convince or persuade or cause the world to believe, that a man rose from the dead. If I can do that, I’ve done my job.”

Movieguide® previously reported on how Lowry’s mother influenced his love of music:

Mark Lowry, like many, was a rambunctious child, but thanks to his mother’s help directed his energy to something useful, which ultimately led him to a career as a Gospel singer and comedian.

Lowry recounted on Kirk Cameron’s TAKEAWAYS as a child how his mother would be playing piano and singing at church where she would catch him doing “standup comedy” for his friends.

“She’d be loving God and having a great time until she spotted me in the balcony. And above the singing, I’d hear her clear that throat and I knew it was a battle cry,” Lowry joked.