Church Music

I already covered this song in a job lot of CWB II songs for Feasts of the Lord and Solemenities, this one being suggested for “Mary, Help of Christians”.

It is another classic text by the poet James McAuley set by the marvellous Richard Connolly.

In the sample at Willow, where you can buy the sheet music, it is preceded by, “Holy Mary pray for us”. The sheet music is also available in the collection, Year of Grace.

1 Help of Christians, guard this land
From assault or inward stain;
Let it be what Christ has planned,
His new Eden where you reign.

2 Teach us that in Christ your Son
Lies the wisdom to be free;
For the Cross, which we would shun,
Is man’s tree of liberty

3 Should the powers of hell arise,
And our peace be trampled down,
In that night of blood and lies
Show us still your twelve-starred crown.

4 Take from us the coward heart,
Fleeting will, divided mind;
Give us sight to play our part,
Though the world around is blind.

5 Image of the risen life
Shining in eternity
Glimmer through our earthly strife,
Draw us to your victory

Well here’s something you don’t see often, a hymn for the souls in purgatory.

It was written by John Henry Cardinal Newman, I suppose so everyone knew he wasn’t an Anglican anymore.

This song would have a special use for All Souls Day.

It is here set to DUNDEE from the Scottish Psalter from 1615. The tune certainly sounds like all the Presbyterian hymns I sang as a child. Liturgyshare has all the sheet music for this one.

The text below is that found in this hymnal.

1 Help, Lord, the souls that thou hast made,
The souls to thee so dear,
In prison for the debt unpaid
Of sins committed here.

2 These holy souls, they suffer on,
Resigned in heart and will,
Until thy high behest is done,
And justice has its fill.

3 For daily falls, for pardon’d crime
They joy to undergo
The shadow of Thy Cross sublime,
The remnants of thy woe.

4 Good Jesu, help! sweet Jesu, aid
The souls to thee most dear,
In prison for the debt unpaid
Of sins committed here.

I found some extra verses:

Oh, by their patience of delay,
Their hope amid their pain,
Their sacred zeal to burn away
Disfigurement and stain.

Oh, by their fire of love, not less
In keenness than in flame,
Oh, by their very helplessness,
Oh, by Thy own great Name.

All sounds very Clement of Alexandria.

It seems to be set to many other tunes.

St Flavian:

Belmont:

Not sure of this setting:

I don’t think I have ever run across this Lenten hymn before.

It is a translation of a C6 text attributed to St Gregory the Great. Godsongs goes into its background to confirm the translation is PD, and here deLuca sites the translation as being from the “Primer” of 1706.

In this hymnal it is set to BABYLON’S STREAMS by Thomas Campion.

This is the text as in NLPHB. Archaic English seems to suit to translate ancient Latin but the sight rhymes jar a bit.

I appear to have made up chords for this backing using fake BIAB organ.

1 Hear, O thou bounteous Maker, hear
Our humble vows with gracious ear:
Turn not thy saving face away
Whilst on this solemn fast we pray.

2 Great searcher of our hearts, to thee
We here deplore our misery;
Behold, we to thy mercies fly,
Do thou thy healing grace apply.

3 Great are our sins, O Lord, but thou
Canst pardon more than we can do;
May our defects, like shadows, raise
The beauty and the life of grace.

4 May fasts extinguish in our will
The fuel and desire of ill,
And thus our souls, from fetters free,
May only thirst and follow thee.

5 Grant, O most sacred Trinity,
One undivided Unity,
That abstinence may here improve
Our claim to reign with thee above.

To learn to sing a song it helps to hear it sung by by someone with a normal voice.

Fancy…

John de Luca’s interaction with the folk mass repetoire was one of the reasons I wanted to cover his New Living Parish Hymn Book so competely.

This is his take on Ray Repp‘s, “Hear, O Lord” and he has certainly changed it both musically and lyrically.

I can’t find any sheet music on line – all the links from my previous post appear dead and OCP only have an MP3 to sell you. Godsongs notes the old collections it is found in, but they would need to be obtained second hand. If you use sites like Scribd they have copies.

Assuming the music I found back in 2014 reflected the original and changing the key to D as used here, de Luca has once again usefully tarted up the folk arrangement:

The orginal lyrics are, I believe:

Chorus

Hear O Lord the sound of my call,

Hear O Lord and have mercy.

My soul is longing for the glory of you,

O hear O Lord and answer me.

1 Every night before I sleep

I pray my soul to take,

Or else I pray that loneliness

Is gone when I awake.

Chorus

2 Why do I no longer feel

Like I’ve a place to stay?

O take me where someone will care

So fear will go away.

Chorus

3 In you, Lord, I place my cares

And all my troubles too.

O grant, dear Lord, that some day soon

I’ll live in peace with you.

Chorus

The words may have seemed too personal or unsuited to liturgy because other versions of the text are out there. With a refrain that is very influenced by the psalms it is no surprise that revised verses would also be inspired there. I found these verse lyrics by David Lauria:

1 For the Lord is my light and strength, so whom have I to fear?

He watches o’er my life below, in him alone I trust.

2 There is a river leading to the city God had made

Though waters crash and mountains roar the walls shall stand untouched.

3 Come and see the works of the Lord, exalt his name on high!

Though nations cry and kingdoms fall his voice brings peace to all.

John de Luca also wiped the verses and replace them with his paraphrase of Psalm 129. It is certainly a common enough folk trope to write your own lyrics to an older tune.

I don’t think his first verse works anymore because “Sweet Jesus” has become a profanity, but the rest is fine.

1 From the depths I call to you, sweet Jesus, hear my cry.

Oh, let your ears be ever keen to hear me when I sigh:

2 If the Lord should mark our guilt, what creature would survive?

But God to us his mercy shows, and fallen souls revive.

3 So my soul waits for the Lord, no longer so forlorn.

My soul is longing for the Lord as watchmen wait the dawn.

4 For the Lord is merciful, on him we do rely;

His people, Israel, lifted up from failure to on high.

5 Glory now to God be given, the Father and the Son,

And Holy Spirit, Gift of Love, for ever Three in One.

I made a backing with de Luca’s arrangement:

More Gelineau psalm goodness, this time Psalm 90 (91).

Again, NLPHB uses the original Grail text due to its time of publication.

There are a choice of two Antiphons:

1 My refuge, my stronghold, My God in whom I trust! (music by Anthony Gregory Murray)

2 Call upon the Lord and he will hear you. (music by Joseph Gelineau)

This backing is for Antiphon 2.

For those with the Australian Hymn Book, it is number 96, and there is another antiphon with music by Murray:

His angels shall keep me in safety, no evil shall I fear.

This psalm is, of course, the source of Michael Joncas’s timeless hymn. Now that I rarely choose non-Australian hymns, it seems ages since I sang it. I gather in America, it is so associated with funerals as to be difficult to use in a normal liturgy. While I have joked about this being the “Yoohoo” song, it is certainly moving and very nice when sung well.

This is such a powerful psalm is can even be recited:

Getting back to the New Living Parish Hymn Book, a had resolved to do every hymn come what may, but this one is a bit much.

It is Joseph Gelineau’s setting of Psalm 50 (51). Nothing wrong with that, but with the date of publication, the original Grail verses are used. I also have the version in Gather 3 which has revised Grail and needs to put extra music in some verses to cover the amendments. There are ten verses, upon which I refuse to attempt a metrical conversion.

Having refused that, here is a backing for the Antiphon:

Have mercy, Lord, cleanse me from all my sins.

Hymnary have a preview of the sheet music from Catholic Book of Worship III.

This is pretty:

Not Gelineau but fascinating:

Rounding out Proclaim Lismore Wildfire‘s 2025 album, “It’s Good to be Alive” is another collaboration with Rachael Kama.

This is blues testimony and a lot of fun.

It was written by Evronia Allan, Eliza Blunn, Rachael Kama, Alex Pereira,
Daniel Pereira, Laurie Pratt and Josiah Varney.

The chords and resources are at their site.

They do say sheet music will be available, but it appears not to have been done, so we will have to be content with the chords and their enthusiasm.

VERSE 1
I was down and out, thought that all hope was lost
I was searching in the wrong places, but then I felt real love
I knelt before the Lord
said ‘show me what to do’ and

TAG
I saw the light

VERSE 2
Sometimes I find it hard to get some sleep
When the noises in my head hit way too deep
They try to steal, Your peace from me
But peace will only come when I surrender all to You
Cause’ my heart is always set upon Your faithfulness

TAG

VERSE 3
Walking round’ one morning, heavy with my sin.
Lost in the darkness, yeah, I don’t know where I’d been.
My knees hit the ground, I spoke to Jesus Christ,
I said, “what do you want from me, in this uncertain life?”
He said, “Son I want your trust, open your eyes”.

TAG

VERSE 4
Overwhelmed and confused, didn’t know what to do
Afraid I’m not worthy of His love but He healed my heart
Showed me His way
His grace day to day

TAG

VERSE 5
Trying to be a faithful disciple
Praying night and day, and heading to Mass on Sunday
It was like I saw God for the first time
Want more of this to last a lifetime
But then I trusted in His promises, and I gave my life to Him

TAG

OUTRO x8
Saw the light, saw the light
We saw the light

2025 Proclaim Lismore Wildfire
Allan – Blunn – Kama – Pereira
Pereira – Pratt – Varney
All rights reserved by the
Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools

Some more from Rachael Kama.

Proclaim Wildfire Lismore made this rousing funk style song with Rachel Kama, who worked at Lismore in the past.

The song was written by Evronia Allan, Eliza Blunn, Ashlinn de Dassel,
Rachael Kama, Alex Pereira, Daniel Pereira & Laurie Pratt.

The supporting material including chords and lesson plans are at their site.

CHORUS
I will hope in the Lord
I won’t grow weary
I’ll renew my strength in
You give me the grace
To soar like an eagle
I will run to You

VERSE 1
Every valley shall be lifted
Every mountain, hill be made low
Hidden in the wilderness
Your voice cries out that I’m not alone
Oh

CHORUS x2

VERSE 2
Your tender voice, it comforts me
Your glory brings us all together
Though the ground withers, the flowers fade,
Your word, O God, will stand forever
Ooh

CHORUS x2
last time – ‘I will run’

BRIDGE x2
No longer bound (we will walk)
Not afraid (we will run)
We will soar

CHORUS x3
1st time – acapella

2025 Proclaim Lismore Wildfire
Allan – Blunn – de Dassel – Kama –
Pereira – Pereira – Pratt
All rights reserved by the
Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools

This a charming song of the Annunciation from the young people of Proclaim Wildfire Lismore. It was written by Evronia Allan, Eliza Blunn, Ashlinn de Dassel, Jaz Letchford, Daniel Pereira & Laurie Pratt.

The resources including the chords are at their site.

VERSE 1
I was frightened and confused
When the angel spoke the news
That I would be a mother soon
The Son of God within my womb
He said ‘The Lord is with thee’ But how could it be
That my God has chosen me?

CHORUS
So I say ‘yes’ to You
‘Cause I trust in what You’ll do I say yes to You
Cause I know Your word is true
Even when it’s hard to see Your plan for me
Your servant I will be
I say ‘yes’ to You
‘Cause I trust in what You’ll do

TAG
I say ‘yes’ Hmm
I say ‘yes’ Hmm

VERSE 2
The angel said I’m full of grace
And that the Lord is in this space
So I rose and went with haste
To Elizabeth’s place
She told me I am blessed
As the child within her leapt To fulfil what’s coming next

CHORUS

TAG

BRIDGE
My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in my God
He has been mindful of my humble state Generations will call me blessed

CHORUS x2
2025 Proclaim Lismore Wildfire
TAG x2 Allan – Blunn – de Dassel –
Letchford – Pereira – Pratt
All rights reserved by the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools

This is another song from Proclaim Wildfire Lismore‘s 2025 album, It’s Good to be Alive.

Even more explicitly than the other songs in this collection is urges gratitude and optimism.

This quiet, thoughtful song was written by Ashlinn de Dassel, Jaz Letchford, Daniel Pereira & Laurie Pratt.

The chords and lesson plans are available at their site.

VERSE 1
Lift up you hands and surrender to Jesus
Forget all your worries and stress
Don’t let the sunrise be wasted each morning
Lay all your burdens to rest

CHORUS
And be grateful
For the love He brings
And be grateful
He gives us everything

VERSE 2
Lift up your hands and speak the name Jesus
Remove all the doubts in your mind
Before every sunset let go of your anger
Leave all your ego behind

CHORUS x2

BRIDGE x3
In every season
In the air that I’m breathing
In all that surrounds me
God, You are good. God You are good

OUTRO x2 (second time soft)
I will be grateful
I will be grateful
I will be grateful
God, You are good. God, You are good

2025 Proclaim Lismore Wildfire
de Dassel – Letchford- Pereira – Pratt
All rights reserved by the
Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools