Be Thou My Vision

Slane; the name of Be Thou My Visions' tune and an Irish castle!

This 8th century Irish song gets my vote for best melody of all time. Its contour is perfectly shaped and it has just the right amount of repetition and new material. It is even more amazing to me that the text goes back to—as far as we know—just as early as the music. And this of course makes sense, because the lyric is so wedded with the melody that we could never imagine one without the other. This strength of melody and lyric allows many worship leaders to translate this hymn into a variety of feels and genres. This is my attempt at an arrangement.

I was looking to add some space between the stanzas to really contemplate the depth of meaning in the text, so I took the melodic material of the first and last phrases, varied it, and created and instrumental interlude. I also added a bridge that repeats the lyrics “Still be my vision.” Adding this space allows the congregation to meditate on the text, giving us the opportunity to really invite God’s vision to rule our hearts and lives and giving the Spirit a chance to minister.

The recording is live from a Resurrection sunday worship service featuring Alec Smith on Guitar, Jenn Swank Shuffle on Soprano, Bonnie McMaken on Alto, me on Tenor and Piano, Adam Babarik on Bass, Trae Mcmaken on Violin, and Zach Taylor on Drums.

Chart
Lead Sheet
Lyrics