Today's posting is dedicated to my good friend Robyn whose birthday is today. The story behind her favourite hymn, reproduced below, is taken from the Daily Telegraph.
To Robyn, I wish you "Happy Birthday and many Happy Returns of the Day. Your kindness is much appreciated and May God bless you!"
The story behind the hymn
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Abide with me
A hymn which, as Erik Routley put it, “looks death itself in the face” and embodies the human craving for companionship in extremis.
The text is the work of Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847), a neurotic curate who spent most of his career in the fishing village of Lower Brixham in Devon. He had been haunted by the phrase, repeatedly muttered by his close friend, William Le Hunte, as he lay dying.
It was misremembered from Luke 24:29, where the disciples meet but do not recognise the resurrected Jesus. “Abide with us,” they ask him, “for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.”
As has often been remarked, the change to the singular pronoun is what gives the hymn its comforting emotional intimacy. Lyte wrote Abide with me to his own tune, but today it is sung to Eventide, composed in 10 minutes by the organist William Monk, during what his widow recalled as “a time of great sorrow. Hand in hand we were silently watching the glory of the setting sun (our daily habit) until the golden hue had faded… Then he took paper and pencilled the tune which has gone all over the world.”
Abide with me was hugely popular in the trenches of the First World War, and was sung by Nurse Edith Cavell the night before the Germans shot her for helping British soldiers to escape from occupied Belgium.
A great favourite of the Royal Family, it was played at the weddings of the future George VI to Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and their daughter Elizabeth to Prince Philip.
It is a fixture of the FA Cup final, Anzac Day and the British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. On Sept 21, 2001 it was unforgettably played at Ground Zero by a Salvation Army band during the commemoration of the September 11 attacks.
It also features on the soundtracks of several movies – The Full Monty, 28 Days Later, A Bridge Too Far – and is always associated with mourning and tragedy.
Abide with me
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide:
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me
abide:
When other helpers fail, and comforts
flee,
Help of the helpless, o abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little
day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass
away;
Change and decay in all around I see:
O thou who changest not, abide with
me.
I need thy presence ev’ry passing hour;
What but thy grace can foil the
tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and stay can
be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord
abide with me.
I fear no foe, with thee at hand to
bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no
bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave,
thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.
Hold thou thy Cross before my closing
eyes; Shine through the gloom, and point
me to the skies:
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s
vain shadows flee:
In life, in death, o Lord, abide with me.
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me
abide:
When other helpers fail, and comforts
flee,
Help of the helpless, o abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little
day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass
away;
Change and decay in all around I see:
O thou who changest not, abide with
me.
I need thy presence ev’ry passing hour;
What but thy grace can foil the
tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and stay can
be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord
abide with me.
I fear no foe, with thee at hand to
bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no
bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave,
thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.
Hold thou thy Cross before my closing
eyes; Shine through the gloom, and point
me to the skies:
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s
vain shadows flee:
In life, in death, o Lord, abide with me.
Also Music and score on:
Lyrics
Full lyrics from Wikipedia:
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell'st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell'st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Uploaded on 10 Mar 2007
Abide With Me is a well-known Christian hymn composed by Henry Francis Lyte in 1847, though the lyrics are usually sung to William Henry Monk's melody Eventide rather than Lyte's original music. It is popular across many denominations, and was said to be a favourite of King George V and Mahatma Gandhi. It was sung at both the wedding of King George VI and that of his daughter, who would go on to become Queen Elizabeth II. Since 1927 it has been sung before the kick-off at the FA Cup Final and Challenge Cup Final. It is also often sung at Christian funerals. Lyte wrote the words to his poem while he lay dying from tuberculosis, and lived only three weeks after its completion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxqylxfYyQM
Elton John - Abide With Me
Uploaded on 14 Dec 2007
From:
An audience with Elton John 1997
An audience with Elton John 1997
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cC4EvrvK7c
