Hymn Story: In Heavenly Love Abiding
“In heavenly love abiding” is based on the fifteenth chapter of John’s gospel. Anna Laetitia Waring wrote the hymn, which explores heavenly love. Anna Waring was born in Wales in 1823, to a Quaker family.…
Hymn Story: Jerusalem
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. In his epic collection Milton: A Poem in Two Books is a poem titled “And did those feet in ancienty time”. Various lines of the poem…
Hymn Story: Who Shall Separate us?
“Who Shall Separate Us?” is an eight-part a cappella choir composition. It was written by James MacMillian and commissioned for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II sometime around 2011-2012 when the song was written.…
Hymn Story: O Taste and See how gracious the Lord is
“O taste and see how gracious is the Lord” was composed for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. Ralph Vaughan Williams married his melody with the scripture found in Psalm 34. The hymn was inspired…
Hymn Story: Blaenwern
Blaenwern is a Welsh hymn. The song was composed by William Penfro Rowlands during the 1904-1905 Welsh revival. Rowlands was born on April 19, 1860. He was a Welsh schoolteacher, composer, and conductor of the Morriston…
Hymn Story: My soul, there is a country
My Soul, There is a Country was written by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry. He was the 1st Baronet and an English composer, teacher and historian of music. He was born February 27, 1848. He…
Song Story: Auld Lang Syne
Every year we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Day, but where did it come from? Auld Lang Syne is a Scots poem that was written by Robert Burns in 1788. His poem was…
Christmas Song: The Hallelujah Chorus
The Hallelujah Chorus is the most well-known portion of Geroge Frideric Handel’s “Messiah”. Handel used the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter to compose his text. The “Messiah” was first performed in Dublin on…
Christmas Hymn: Sussex Carol
The “Sussex Carol” is a popular Christmas Carol in Britain. Luke Wadding, a 17th Century Irish Bishop, first published the song in 1684. It is unknown whether he wrote the song himself or had recorded…
Christmas Song: The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy
I have found two different stories for this hymn. The first states it is believed “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” was written Jamaican singer-songwriter Oswald Dunbar sometime in the early 1960s. Legend states…
Christmas Hymn Story: In Dulci Jubilo
“In dulci jubilo” means in sweet rejoicing in Latin. The original text is believed to have been written around 1328 by Heinrich Seuse, a German mystic. According to folklore, “Seuse heard angels sing these words…
Christmas Hymn Story: In the Bleak Mid-Winter
English poet Christina Rosetti published a poem under the title “A Christmas Carol” in January 1872 issue of Scribner’s Monthly. Composer Gustav Holst composed a setting to her words in 1906. The new hymn appeared…
Patriotic song: This Land Is Your Land
I thought we’d look at a popular Patriotic song, This Land is Your Land. The American folk song was written in 1940 by Woody Guthrie. During this time he hitchhiked from Los Angeles to New…
Hymn Story: Christ is made the sure foundation
Christ is Made the Sure Foundation was a Latin hymn written sometime in the late 6th or 7th Century under the title Urbs beata Jerusalem. The original hymn was sung as an unaccompanied plainsong melody.…
Hymn Story: God Be With You Till We Meet Again
God Be with You till We meet Again was written by Jeremiah E. Rankin around 1880. It is undated but he gave a copy to Sankey in 1882. Rankin was born on January 2, 1828…
Hymn Story: I Vow to Thee My Country
“I Vow to Thee, My Country” is a British patriotic hymn. Sir Cecil Spring Rice wrote the poem “The City of God” or “The Two Fatherlands” in either 1908 or 1912. The poem described how…
Song Story: Sleep, Dearie, Sleep
Sleep, Dearie, Sleep was played at the end of Queen Elizabeth II funeral at Westminster Abbey. Her bagpiper played this beautiful lament. I’ve been unable to find any additional information about who wrote the song.
Hymn Story: The Lords My Shepherd
The Lord’s My Shepherd is a hymn based on Psalm 23. It first appeared in the Scots Metrical Psalter in 1650 and is usually attributed to the English Puritan Francis Rous. The tune Crimond is…
Hymn Story: The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended
This hymn was recently sung at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Rev. John Ellerton wrote the hymn in 1870 to be included in A Liturgy for Missionary Meetings. Two different translations of the text…
Hymn Story: A Broken Heart, My God, My Life
Recently we sung A Broken Heart, My God, My Life in church. A hymn I had not heard before and wanted to learn more about. A Broken Heart, My God, My Life was written by…