The Cyber Hymnal ‎#4561

4561. Nearer, My God, to Thee

1. Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Refrain
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!

2. Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone.
Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God to Thee. [Refrain]

3. There let the way appear, steps unto Heav’n;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee. [Refrain]

4. Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee. [Refrain]

5. Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I’ll fly,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. [Refrain]

6. There in my Father’s home, safe and at rest,
There in my Savior’s love, perfectly blest;
Age after age to be, nearer my God to Thee. [Refrain]

Text Information

• First Line: Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee
• Title: Nearer, My God, to Thee
• Author (vs. 1-5): Sarah Adams (1841)
• Author (v. 6): Edward H. Bickersteth, Jr.
• Refrain First Line: Nearer, my God, to Thee
• Language: English
• Source: Hymns and Anthems, by William Johnson Fox, 1841
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Alternate tunes: AMERICAN, anonymous; COMMUNION, Samuel S. Wesley, in the European Psalmist, 1872; HORBURY, John B. Dykes, 1861; LIVERPOOL, John Roberts, 1822-1877; PROPIOR DEO, Arthur S. Sullivan, 1872 (uses a modified refrain)

Tune Information

• Name: BETHANY (Mason)
• Composer: Lowell Mason (1856)
• Incipit: 32116 65132 32116
• Key: F Major
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: "One night, some­time af­ter ly­ing awake in the dark, eyes wide open, through the still­ness in the house the mel­o­dy came to me, and the next morn­ing I wrote down the notes."