Be Thou My Vision
Words: ancient Irish; tr. Mary E. Byrne, 1905, vers. Eleanor Hull, 1912 · Tune "Slane": traditional Irish melody · Public domain
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Verse 1
DBe thou my Gvi-Asion, O DLord of Amy Dheart;
Anaught be all else F#mto Dme, Gsave Athat Bmthou Dart;
Gthou my best Athought, Dby day or Aby Gnight,
Dwaking F#mor Gsleep-Ding, thy Apres-Dence my light.
Verse 2
DBe thou my Gwis-Adom, and Dthou my Atrue DWord;
AI ever with F#mthee Dand Gthou Awith Bmme, DLord;
Gthou my great AFa-Dther, I thy Adear Gchild;
Dthou in F#mme Gdwell-Ding, with Athee Dreconciled.
Verse 3
DBe thou my Gbreast-Aplate, my Dsword for Athe Dfight;
Abe thou my dig-F#mni-Dty, Gthou Amy Bmde-Dlight;
Gthou my soul's Ashel-Dter, thou my Ahigh Gtow'r;
Draise thou F#mme Gheav'n-Dward, O APow'r Dof my pow'r.
Verse 4
DRiches I Gheed Anot, nor Dvain, emp-Aty Dpraise;
Athou mine inher-F#mi-Dtance, Gnow Aand Bmal-Dways;
Gthou and thou Aon-Dly, first in Amy Gheart;
DHigh King F#mof Gheav-Den, my Atreas-Dure thou art.
Chords in the key of D
- D
- G
- A
- F#m
- Bm
About this hymn
- Words
- Irish original ascribed to Dallan Forgaill, date disputed; translated by Mary Elizabeth Byrne, 1905, versified by Eleanor Hull, 1912
- Music
- SLANE, Irish folk melody, joined to these words around 1919
- Meter
- 10.10.10.10
- In
- 206 hymnals
- Scripture
- Psalm 16, Psalm 73:24-28, Philippians 3:7
The story
This one starts as an Irish poem, Rop tu mo baile, long credited to the monk Dallan Forgaill. The date is not settled. Hymnary puts it in the eighth century, while language scholars date the surviving text closer to the tenth or eleventh. Either way it sat in Irish a long time. Mary Byrne put it into English prose in 1905, and that was a journal article, not a hymn. Eleanor Hull turned her prose into verse in 1912, and that is the text our hymnals use. The hymn we know really begins around 1919, when an editor set those words to the folk tune SLANE, named for a hill in County Meath.
Where it fits in a service
Often used as a quiet opening, a song before the sermon, or a communion hymn. The three four feel and the plain melody make it a good fit for a reflective part of the service.
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This hymn in three keys, and 49 more
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Online lessons, by ear, from the author of the book — a camera on the keys and this hymn ready for Sunday.
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