A very popular and family-friendly entertainer throughout the ’60s, Ray Stevens was given his own TV variety show in 1970 called The Ray Stevens Show, which lasted just one season as a summer replacement. He wrote the uplifting “Everything Is Beautiful” as the theme for the show.
Stevens explained, “I needed a very special song for the program. I went down in my basement for about three days. I had crumpled paper all over the place. And suddenly the idea for the song came to me. I wrote it in maybe 45 minutes. It was a very special song and one that a lot of people still remember and sing along when I do it in shows. In 2019, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
(source)
Lyrics to Ray Stevens’ “Everything Is Beautiful”
All the children of the world
Pretty yellow black and white
They are precious in his sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world
Everything is beautiful
In it’s own way
Like a starry summer night
On a snow covered winter’s day
And everybody’s beautiful
In their own way
Under God’s heaven
The world’s gonna find a way
There is none so blind
As he who will not see
We must not close our minds
We must let our thoughts be free
For every hour that passes by
You know the world gets a little bit older
It’s time to realize that people lies
In the eyes of the beholder
And everything is beautiful
In it’s own way
Like a starry summer night
On a snow covered winter’s day, ah sing it children
In their own way
Under God’s heaven
The world’s gonna find a way
We shouldn’t care about the length of his hair
Of the color of his skin
Don’t worry about what shows from without
But the love that lives within
We’re gonna get old again now
Everything is gonna work out fine
Just take a little time to the calm good side my friend
And spittle in out in your mind
And everything is beautiful
In it’s own way
Like a starry summer night
On a snow covered winter’s day, ah sing it children
And everybody’s beautiful
In their own way
Under God’s heaven
The world’s gonna find a way, one more time
Everything is beautiful
In it’s own way
Like a starry summer night
On a snow covered winter’s day
Here is a recent performance of Ray!
And finally, here’s a comedy clip from Ray’s short-lived, but enjoyed variety show!
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