Be Thou My Vision
Words: ancient Irish; tr. Mary E. Byrne, 1905, vers. Eleanor Hull, 1912 · Tune "Slane": traditional Irish melody · Public domain
Verse 1
DBe Thou my Gvision, O DLord of my Dheart;
ANaught be all Gelse to me, Dsave that Thou Aart;
DThou my best Gthought, by Dday or by Bmnight,
DWaking or sleeping, Thy Apresence my Dlight.
Verse 2
DBe Thou my Gwisdom, and DThou my true DWord;
AI ever with DThee and Thou with me, ALord;
DThou my great GFather, I Thy dear Bmchild,
DThou in me dwelling, with AThee Dreconciled.
Verse 3
DBe Thou my Gbreastplate, my Dsword for the Dfight;
ABe Thou my Gdignity, DThou my Adelight;
DThou my soul's Gshelter, Thou my high Bmtow'r,
DRaise Thou me Heav'nward, O APower of my Dpower.
Verse 4
DRiches I Gheed not, nor Dvain, empty Dpraise,
AThou mine Ginheritance, Dnow and Aalways;
DThou and Thou Gonly, Dfirst in my Bmheart,
DHigh King of Heaven, my Atreasure Thou Dart.
Chords in the key of D
- D
- G
- A
- 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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