[1007] Abide with me
Guest poem submitted by Ira Cooper, <iracooper@>:
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.
Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea-
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide 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.
-- Henry F. Lyte
|
1847.
Since adolescence, this poem always has been a comfort to me. Years later,
it is especially so in these traumatic times.
Ira.
[Background]
Lyte was inspired to write this hymn as he was dying of tu=ADber=ADcu=ADlo=ADsis; he
fin=ADished it the Sun=ADday he gave his fare=ADwell ser=ADmon in the par=ADish he
served so ma=ADny years. The next day, he left for Italy to re=ADgain his
health. He didn't make it, though -- he died in Nice, France, three weeks
af=ADter writ=ADing these words. For more than a century, the bells of his
church at All Saints in in Lower Brix=ADham, Devon=ADshire, have rung out "Abide
with Me" daily. The hymn was sung at the wed=ADding of King George VI of
Britain, and at the wed=ADding of his daugh=ADter, the fu=ADture Queen Elizabeth
II.
-- http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/b/abidewme.htm
From: Joshi Siddhartha <siddhartha_joshi@>
At the end of the Beating Retreat ceremony (held every year on the 29th of January) at Vijay Chowk, the bell towers (of Rashtrapati Bhawan; do they have a complete carillon? I would imagine so...) perform "Abide with me". If I remember correctly, they begin the tune and the massed bands take it up. The magnificent setting (Lutyens' Delhi), the chilly winter weather and colourful pageantry of the massed bands - and of course the atmosphere created by the music make for a truly memorable experience. As the last peals roll down Raisina Hill and die away, all the buildings around and including the north and south blocks light up - and the firework display begins.
PS: It is a fact that Gandhi loved this hymn.
PPS: A website with some info on the ceremony: http://www.netfundu.com/26jan/beatingr.htm
From: "Jerry Rao" <jerry.rao@>
It was a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi's......
Regards
Jerry Rao
From: "Tim Footman" <tim_footman@>
Abide With Me is always sung at the FA Cup Final, the culmination of the
English soccer season (for a US equivalent, think Super Bowl, and then
some). Nobody seems to know why or how this tradition arose, but 100,000
voices bellowing out the words sure brings out the gooseflesh...
Outgoing messages scanned and certified safe by Stop-Sign, the Personal Alarm Service.
http://defender.veloz.com/dlp_ban/?n=tl&sp=08.out002
From: "Alice Clarke" <alice.clarke@>
I think it's because of it's links to the football but apparently this
is one of the best known songs ever, scientists did tests on dementia
patients and found this was the song most could remember. Interesting I
think, and beautiful words.