Beautiful City

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Beautiful Zion, built above, Beautiful city that I love (Gill)

Author: George Gill (1850)
Tune: [Beautiful Zion, built above] (Cook)
Published in 261 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, Noteworthy Composer
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1. Beautiful Zion, built above;
Beautiful city that I love;
Beautiful gates of pearly white;
Beautiful temple—God its light;
He who was slain on Calvary
Opens those pearly gates for me.

[Chorus:]
Zion, Zion, lovely Zion;
Beautiful Zion;
Zion, city of our God!

2. Beautiful heav’n, where all is light;
Beautiful angels clothed in white;
Beautiful strains that never tire;
Beautiful harps thru all the choir;
There shall I join the chorus sweet,
Worshiping at the Savior’s feet. [Chorus]

3. Beautiful crowns on ev’ry brow;
Beautiful palms the conq’rors show;
Beautiful robes the ransomed wear;
Beautiful all who enter there;
Thither I press with eager feet;
There shall my rest be long and sweet. [Chorus]

Source: Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints #44

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Author: George Gill

Gill, George, son of William Gill, was born at Tiverton, Devonshire, Jan. 23, 1820, and was for some time a missionary in the South Sea Islands. His hymn, "Beautiful Zion, built above " (Heaven), was "written" the author says, "on the island of Mangaia, South Seas, April, 1850." It was printed in the Juvenile Missionary Magazine in 1852. His re-written form of Phoebe Cary’s “One Sweetly Solemn Thought” beginning “this sweetly solemn thought” is dated 1861 and also appeared in the Juvenile Missionary Magazine, Gill left the South Sea in 1860, and in 1861 became pastor of Wesgate Congregational Chapel, Burnley. He died Aug. 19, 1880. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) Go to person page >

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First Line:	Beautiful Zion, built above, Beautiful city that I love (Gill)
Title:	Beautiful City
Author:	George Gill (1850)
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	Zion, Zion, lovely Zion
Copyright:	Public Domain