| "Abide with Me" | |
|---|---|
| Hymn | |
 The hymn set to "Eventide" | |
| Written | 1847 (1847) |
| Text | byHenry Francis Lyte |
| Language | English |
| Based on | Luke 24:29 |
| Meter | 10 10 10 10 |
| Melody | "Eventide"byWilliam Henry Monk |
| Composed | 1861 (1861) |
"Abide with Me" is a Christianhymn by ScottishAnglicanclericHenry Francis Lyte (1793–1847). A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying fromtuberculosis. It is most often sung to the tune "Eventide" by the English organistWilliam Henry Monk (1823–1889).
The author of the hymn,Henry Francis Lyte, was an Anglican cleric. He was a curate inCounty Wexford from 1815 to 1818. According to a plaque erected in his memory inTaghmon Church, he preached frequently at the church inKillurin, about nine miles from there. During that time the rector of Killurin Parish, the Reverend Abraham Swanne, was a lasting influence on Lyte's life and ministry. Later he was vicar of All Saints' Church inBrixham, Devon, England. For most of his life Lyte suffered from poor health, and he would regularly travel abroad for relief, as was customary at that time.
There is some controversy as to the exact dating of the text to "Abide with Me". An article inThe Spectator, 3 October 1925, says that Lyte composed the hymn in 1820 while visiting a dying friend. It was related that Lyte was staying with the Hore family in County Wexford and had visited an old friend, William Augustus Le Hunte, who was dying. As Lyte sat with the dying man, William kept repeating the phrase "abide with me…". After leaving William's bedside, Lyte wrote the hymn and gave a copy of it to Le Hunte's family.
The belief is that when Lyte felt his own end approaching twenty-seven years later at the age of 54, as he developedtuberculosis, he recalled the lines he had written so many years before in County Wexford. The Biblical link for the hymn isLuke 24:29 in which the disciples asked Jesus to abide with them "for it is toward evening and the day is spent". Using his friend's more personal phrasing "Abide with Me", Lyte composed the hymn. His daughter, Anna Maria Maxwell Hogg, recounts the story of how "Abide with Me" came out of that context:
The summer was passing away, and the month of September (that month in which he was once more to quit his native land) arrived, and each day seemed to have a special value as being one day nearer his departure. His family were surprised and almost alarmed at his announcing his intention of preaching once more to his people. His weakness and the possible danger attending the effort, were urged to prevent it, but in vain. "It was better", as he used to say often playfully, when in comparative health, "to wear out than to rust out". He felt that he should be enabled to fulfil his wish, and feared not for the result. His expectation was well founded. He did preach, and amid the breathless attention of his hearers, gave them a sermon on the Holy Communion ... In the evening of the same day he placed in the hands of a near and dear relative the little hymn, "Abide with Me", with an air of his own composing, adapted to the words.[1]
Just weeks later, on 20 November 1847 inNice, then in theKingdom of Sardinia, Lyte died. The hymn was sung for the first time at Lyte's funeral. Special thanksgiving services to mark Lyte's bicentenary were held in Taghmon and Killurin churches. Although Lyte wrote a tune for the hymn, the most usual tune for the hymn is "Eventide" by William Henry Monk.
The hymn is a prayer for God to remain present with the speaker throughout life, through trials, and through death. The opening line alludes toLuke 24:29, "Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent", and the penultimate verse draws on text from1 Corinthians 15:55,"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?":
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 terror, 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, thus 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.[2]
Many hymnals omit some of the verses. For example, the compilers of one of the editions ofHymns Ancient and Modern, of which William Henry Monk, the composer of the tune "Eventide", was the original editor, omitted the verse beginning"Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;" for being too personal.[3]
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Thehymn tune most often used with this hymn is "Eventide" composed by English organist and church musicianWilliam Henry Monk in 1861.[4]
Alternative tunes include:
The principal theme of the fourth movement ofGustav Mahler'sSymphony No. 9 is often noted for its similarity to Monk's "Eventide".[5]Ralph Vaughan Williams composed adescant for the 1925 hymnal,Songs of Praise;[6] also an orchestral prelude ("Two Hymn-Tune Preludes", "1. Eventide") on the tune for the Hereford Festival of 1936.[7] The hymn was also set to music around 1890 by the American composerCharles Ives, and was published in his collectionThirteen Songs in 1958, four years after his death.[8]
"One of the most sung hymns at funerals, this is really a prayer to God to stay with him in death as He did with us in life."
The hymn is popular across manyChristian denominations and was said to have been a favourite of KingGeorge V[10][11] andMahatma Gandhi.[12] It became a legend that in 1947 it was sung at thewedding of Queen Elizabeth II.[13] It is also often sung or played at Christian funerals;[9] notable examples include the funeral ofSun Yat-sen in 1925,[14] thestate funeral of George V in 1936,[15] thefuneral of Queen Mary in 1953[16] and the state funeral ofJean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 2019.[17]
The hymn is sung at the annualAnzac Day services in Australia andNew Zealand,[18] and in someRemembrance Day services in Canada[19] and the United Kingdom.[20] The song was part of theBeating the Retreat ceremony of theIndian Republic day celebrations till 2021 when it was replaced with an Indian Patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo".[21][22]
The hymn has been widely recorded, by artists in various genres.Thelonious Monk arranged a version featuringJohn Coltrane,Coleman Hawkins, andGigi Gryce in 1957.[23] Several versions have charted on theUK singles chart. In 1984, a version bythe Inspirational Choir, from their debut albumSweet Inspiration, peaked at No. 36,[24] and a re-release the following year also reached the same position.[25] A dance version byVic Reeves reached No. 47 in 1991,[26] which is from his sole albumI Will Cure You. In 2012,Emeli Sandé recorded her version for the2012 Summer Olympics on the soundtrack albumIsles of Wonder. It reached number 44 in the UK[26] and number 63 on theIrish Singles Chart.[27] A 2013 version featuringJoe McElderry and theRoyal Mail Choir was released as a charity single raising money forProstate Cancer UK, reaching number 19 on theUK Indie Chart.[28]
The first and last verses of the hymn are traditionally sung at theFA Cup Final about 15 minutes before the kick-off of the match.[29] The firstformal use of the hymn was before the1927 FA Cup Final betweenArsenal andCardiff City.
The association with the FA Cup Final goes back slightly further to the1923 final betweenBolton Wanderers andWest Ham United when record-breaking crowds spilled onto the pitch before kick-off. While the pitch was being cleared, the event choir, St Luke's, sang "Abide with Me"; the crowds of West Ham supporters walking back to theEast End are also said to have sung the song. The choir's spontaneous recital may be the origin of the tradition of singing the song before cup finals.[30]
The hymn has also been sung prior to the kick-off at every Rugby LeagueChallenge Cup Final since 1929.[31]
It was featured in theopening ceremony of the2012 London Olympics, sung byEmeli Sandé as a tribute to the victims of the7/7 terrorist attacks.[32]
The hymn, in full or in part, is often used in a range of films and television programmes.
InChris Morris'sdarksketch comedyseriesJam, the song is sung by the man in the funeral sketch, as he slowly dies inside the coffin.[33]
In the movie 28 Days Later, a version performed by Perri Alleyne is played during a scene where Cillian Murphy's character Jim finds his parents passed away in their bedroom.
In the movieA Bridge Too Far, wounded British Soldiers in the failedOperation Market Garden sang "Abide with Me" while awaiting capture by the Germans in the closing credits of the film.
In theDoctor Who episodeGridlock, the song was the usual subject of the Daily Contemplation. It was also sung by the drivers of New New York as they departed the Motorway after they were freed by theTenth Doctor.
An instrumental rendition, mixed with theEastEnders theme, was used onEastEnders for the funeral ofDot Cotton.
Achiptune rendition of the melody serves as the main menu theme of the 2022 indiesurvival-horror gameFaith: The Unholy Trinity.
Several instrumental renditions of the melody appear inAssassin's Creed Syndicate as ambient music, notably when the character is at the top of certain synchronization points, and is played by an ensemble near a small park.
References in literature includeGeorge Orwell'sBurmese Days.[34]
The Victorian Poet LaureateAlfred, Lord Tennyson, according toFrancis Turner Palgrave, on reading "Abide with Me", "was deeply impressed by its solemn beauty; remarking that it wanted very little to take rank among the really perfect poems of our language".[35]
InMark Valentine's short story "Vain Shadows Flee" a character in the story often sings, hums, or mutters this Christian hymn, and the story of its composition is given.
