This song by Bernadette Farrell has a gorgeous tune and with a fair old range too. It has a touch of the show tune about it. You can listen to the original here and the choral work makes me think it would be better as a solo. This amazing uptempo and enthusiastic rendition is incoherent enough to just about confirm it as does this breathless version.

So here is a song I’ve never played that I actually think is a great song and none of the versions I’ve heard do it justice.  It would be a great tune for Easter.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

Verse 1

If you would follow me,
Follow where life will lead:
Do not look for me among the dead,
For I am hidden in pain, risen in love;
There is no harvest without sowing of grain.

Refrain:

All that is hidden will be made clear.
All that is dark now will be revealed.
What you have heard in the dark
Proclaim in the light;
What you hear in whispers
Proclaim from the housetops.

Verse 2

If you would honour me,
Honour the least of these:
You will not find me dressed in finery.
My Word cries out to be heard;
Breaks through the world:
My Word is on your lips and lives in your heart.

Refrain

Verse 3

If you would speak of me,
Live all your life in me.
My ways are not the ways that you would choose;
My thoughts are far beyond yours,
As heaven from earth:
If you believe in me my voice will be heard.

Refrain

Verse 4

If you would rise with me,
Rise through your destiny:
Do not refuse the death which brings you life,
For as the grain in the earth
Must die for rebirth,
So I have planted your life deep within mine.

Refrain

© Bernadette Farrell 1986, 1988.

Besides, “On Eagles Wings” I suspect this is Michael Joncas’ most popular song. We certainly sing it a lot although it has some challenges.  The verses are really short with the first line loud and the second soft.  The loud bit involves a jump from a low D (the last note of the chorus)to a high D (the first note of the verse).  When this fails it does so spectacularly.

Again we are singing in the voice of God so although it is scriptural from Ps 24 and Jer 31 it is very wrong, and I’m sure we’ll keep singing it.

The original can be heard here. This parish does a fine job as does this one, albeit with a few arrangement liberties.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

For some reason my backing went a bit country again.

Refrain

I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you, and you are mine;
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you, and you are mine.

Verse 1

Seek the face of the lord and long for him:
He will bring you his light and his peace.

Refrain

Verse 2

Seek the face of the lord and long for him:
He will bring you his joy and his hope.

Refrain

Verse 3

Seek the face of the Lord and long for him:

He will bring you his care and his love.

Refrain

© New Dawn Music 1979.

We used to use the chorus of this as a memorial acclamation in the past, but I doubt that’s on anymore. A Taize chant by Jacques Berthier with a different tune to trip you up on each verse, it has an obvious application for Eucharist. It is a difficult song to sing gently and delicately but needs it. Listen to it as a chant here. This guitar and vocal version has different lyrics.

AOV has “come to him” but I’m sure we sing ” come to me”, which is singing in God’s voice and therefore not allowed.

Refrain
Eat this bread, drink this cup,
come to me (him) and never be hungry.
Eat this bread, drink this cup,
trust in me (him) and you will not thirst.

Verse 1

I am the bread of life, the true bread sent from the Father

Refrain

Verse 2

Your ancestors ate manna in the desert,
but this is the bread come down from heaven

Refrain

Verse 3

Eat my flesh and drink my blood,
and I will raise you up on the last day

Refrain

Verse 4

Anyone who eats this bread, will live forever

Refrain

Verse 5

If you believe and eat this bread, you will have eternal life

Refrain

© Ateliers Et Presses De Taizé

This jaunty hymn of praise is by Bob Dufford. It says to do lightly but it needs at least some energy, preferably more than in the original here. I like this enthusiastic version : for all its technical faults it is much more like it.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

The first three verses have pretty much the same tune but the fourth is something else again.

Refrain
Let heaven rejoice and earth be glad;
Let all creation sing.
Let children proclaim to every land:
Hosanna to the King.

Verse 1

Sound the trumpet into the night;
The day of the Lord is near.
Wake His people, lift your voice,
Proclaim it to the world.

Refrain

Verse 2

Rise in splendor, shake off your sleep;
Put on your robes of joy.
And in the morning you shall see
The glory of the Lord.

Refrain

Verse 3

Raise your voices, be not afraid.
Proclaim it in every land.
Christ has died, but he has risen;
He will come again.

Refrain

Verse 4

Sing a new song unto the Lord,

For he has done wonderful deeds.

And praise him, thank him, dance before him,

Play before the Lord.

Refrain

There are also Christmas verses you can use:

Nations tremble, wise men amazed
A child is born this night
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God
Our Father, Prince of Peace

Songs of angels
Glory on High
And Peace to men on earth
I bear glad tidings
Born this day
Your Savior and Your God

© Robert Dufford SJ 1972.

An old hymn from the 1800s by Folliot S. Pierpoint and Conrad Kocher. It sounds like all the hymns I sang as a child.  The lyrics in As One Voice have had all the
“thee”s removed and I’ve seen extra verses and different wordings – these lyrics are as in As One Voice.

This is a lovely guitar and vocal version and this piano and vocal. For a modern jazz version (I kid you not) listen here. A more usual organ setting can be heard here.  Lastly a rather delicate choral version by the MTC. There are some odd settings on You tube for this one but most are the other setting of these words by Rutter.

My backing is BIAB church organ I’m afraid.

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to you we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow’r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to you we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on Earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to you we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thy church that evermore,
Lifts its holy hands above;
Off’ring up on ev’ry shore,
A pure sacrifice of love;
Lord of all, to you we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For yourself, O Gift Divine,
To our world so freely giv’n,
For that love from which will shine,
Peace on earth and joy in heav’n.
Lord of all, to you we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

 

This song by Peter Kearney dates itself – it was written in 1970 – by its sheer oddness and abandon and, heaven forbid, creativity. Even just the first two lines are simple, direct and profound and it gets better. Listen to the snippet at As One Voice here.

The text is here (scroll down). You could visit his website.

My backing has real tracks finger picking guitar over a folky strumming MIDI backing..

This is a chant designed to be a round by Erica Marshall. You may recall her Mass of God’s People that I blogged recently. This could be used all over the place in many liturgies and is simple and heartfelt. The snippet here has very ominous background music and what sounds like gunfire in the background. I’m not sure it needs to quite as heavy as that even though with only one chord, some sort of drone instrument would work fine.  I’d love to hear the round without accompaniment with 3 parts starting a bar apart as suggested by the music.

Jesus, Sun of Justice, arise within our hearts;

Shine into our darkness and drive away our night.

Melt our cold and stony fear; enflesh our hearts with love.

Love will hear our people cry, and love will bring them home.

© Erica Marshall

Another Bob Hurd song that you can hear at this site. It is a lovely tune although the ensemble singing doesn’t really take off until the chorus is sung at the same time as the verse from the third verse onwards. It has a touch the Hank Mancinis about it ( a good thing). It is a setting of Psalm 42 and this site gives a nice appreciation of the piece.

This ensemble (allowing for average sound quality) probable do the tune more justice that the original.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

My backing is stripped back.

Refrain

As the deer longs for running streams,
so I long, so I long, so I long for you.

Verse 1

A-thirst my soul for you the God who is my life!
When shall I see, when shall I see,
see the face of God?

Refrain

Verse 2
Echoes meet as deep is calling unto deep,
over my head, all your mighty waters,
sweeping over me.

Refrain

Verse 3
Continually the foe delights in taunting me:
“Where is God, where is your God?”
Where, O where, are you?

Refrain

Verse 4

Defend me, God, send forth your light and your truth,
they will lead me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.

Refrain

Verse 5
Then I shall go unto the altar of my God.
Praising you, O my joy and gladness,
I shall praise your name.

Refrain

© Bob Hurd 1988.

Bob Hurd’s song “Be It Done Unto Me” is a Mary song that is gentle and subtle, flowing from major chorus to minor verse, and is another one ready for Advent. You can hear the original version here.

It can be purchased at OCP.

Refrain

Be it done unto me.

Be it done unto me.

Verse 1

How can you who encompass all things be encompassed by me?

In whose image I’m wondrously made, be made, then, of me.

Refrain

Verse 2

This my body and this my blood: take and receive.

They are you now, O child of my womb. O fruit of my tree.

Refrain

Verse 3

I will love you with an unfailing love, so wide and so deep,

That the arrow that pierces your side will surely pierce me.

Refrain

© Bob Hurd 1986

This Victorian era translation (R F Littledale) of a 15th century text (Bianco do Sienna) with a tune by Ralph Vaughn Williams is a nice old hymn.

Listen to a stirring version here.

My backing is the usual BIAB church organ sound I’m afraid.

1.	Come down, O Love divine,
	seek thou this soul of mine,
	and visit it with thine own ardor glowing;
	O Comforter, draw near,
	within my heart appear,
	and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing. 

2.	O let it freely burn,
	till earthly passions turn
	to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
	and let thy glorious light
	shine ever on my sight,
	and clothe me round, the while my path illuming. 

3.	And so the yearning strong,
	with which the soul will long,
	shall far outpass the power of human telling;
	for none can guess its grace,
	till Love create a place
	wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

© Oxford University Press