Be Thou My Vision O Lord Of My Heart

Описание: The History Behind Be Thou My Vision’s Melody (as obtained from Google)
The legend behind Be Thou My Vision begins with St. Patrick (or just, “Patrick.”). At sixteen, pirates kidnapped him from Britain and sold Patrick into slavery in Ireland. As he became an adult, Patrick assimilated into Ireland’s Gaelic language and customs. He also became a Christian. Eventually, Patrick managed to escape slavery in Ireland and return home to England, but before long, he defied all conventional wisdom and turned back to Ireland–the land of his slavery–to be a missionary.

Saint Patrick
What does all this have to do with Be Thou My Vision? On Easter Sunday in 433, the Irish King Lóegaire, who hated Patrick and Christianity and sought to kill him, issued a decree in observation of a pagan Druid festival that prohibited anyone from lighting a flame or candle in the region–a decree that intentionally fell on Resurrection Sunday.

Patrick, refusing to cow to the king, and choosing to honor no one but Christ on Easter, stood against Lóegaire. The morning of Easter, Patrick risked his life by climbing to the tallest hill, called Slane Hill, and lit a huge paschal bonfire, a traditional way of celebrating Easter in Medieval times.

As the the Irish King and his people awoke on Easter morning, 433, they could all see Patrick’s defiance of the king, and proclamation of the true light of Christ. He could not hide it. Patrick wanted to show the world that God’s light shines in darkness, and that Christ alone–and no Druid deity–deserves praise.

That event marks the beginning of Ireland’s conversion to Christianity. Legend says that even King Lóegaire eventually came to faith. For centuries after, it remained tradition in Ireland to light a bonfire on Easter morning in remembrance of Patrick’s faith.

During those centuries, an unknown composer wrote a melody in honor of Patrick’s heroism. Called, “Slane,” the now-forgotten composer named it after the hill where Patrick shined his light: Slane Hill. People still recognize the tune today.

Resurrection
But in 1905, nearly fifteen hundred years after Saint Patrick lit a flame on Slane Hill, the forgotten hymn re-emerged. Mary Elizabeth Byrne, a 25-year-old university student, rediscovered a copy of the 14th-century poem Rop tú mo Baile and translated it into English for the very first time.

It that moment, the now-hallowed lyrics, “Be thou my vision… oh Lord of my heart… not be all else to me… save that thou art…” sprang from the forgotten pages of time and into the modern world. Later in 1912, an Irish woman named Eleanor Hull set the words to music. The melody she set it to was none other than “Slane,” the medieval tune written in honor of St. Patrick. The hymn became famous overnight and formally appeared in its first hymnal in 1919. In 2019, the world celebrated the 100th anniversary of the modern version of Be Thou My Vision. The musical notes is Traditional Irish Melody as arranged by Jack Shrader.
Lyrics:
Title: BE THOU MY VISION
Verse 1:
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Verse 2:
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Verse 3:
Be Thou my battle shield, sword for my fight;
Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight,
Thou my soul’s shelter, Thou my high tow’r
Raise Thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r
Verse 4:
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
Verse 5:
High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heav’n’s Son!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
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