Funeral Hymn - THAXTED - BCP
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    The following is metrical paraphrase (heavy on the "para") of the Entrance Anthem for funerals from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.

    (I have no idea what happens other places, but around here - the handful of Episcopal Funerals I've done - the text is read during the procession, with no Processional Hymn. I find it really distressing to start a funeral without a hymn, so I wrote this.)

    I imagine some of you may find it useful.
    As always, critiques, comments, suggestions are welcome.
    --------------------------

    "I am the resurrection," he said, "the Life am I."
    And who in him have kept faith, not one of them shall die.
    For all who trust our savior, who call upon the Lord,
    all they who live for Jesus shall find a sure reward.
    O God, in joy and sorrow, we sing our thanks and praise,
    to you, the source and ending, the glory of our days.

    I know my saving God lives, the Lord of my new birth,
    I know that at the last he will stand upon the Earth.
    And I shall be awakened and from the grave arise,
    and I shall see my savior, my friend, with my own eyes.
    O God, in joy and sorrow, we sing our thanks and praise,
    to you, the source and ending, the glory of our days.

    For none of us are living who have their life alone,
    and from our birth to dying our lives are not our own.
    For if we truly have life we are living in the Lord,
    and if we die in Jesus, we find our sure reward.
    O God, in joy and sorrow, we sing our thanks and praise,
    to you, the source and ending, the glory of our days.


    ADAM WOOD
    CC: BY-SA

    Meter: 13 13 13 (or 76 76 76)
    Suggested Tune: THAXTED
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    V1, line 3: s/and/who/

    V3, line 2: isn't a "not" missing here?
    Thanked by 1Adam Wood
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    V1, line 3: s/and/who/

    original:
    For all who trust our savior, and call upon the Lord,

    change to:
    For all who trust our savior, who call upon the Lord,

    BETTER.

    V3, line 2: isn't a "not" missing here?

    OMG. YES.

    original w/typo:
    and from our birth to dying our lives are our own.

    change to:
    and from our birth to dying our lives are not our own.

    ------------------

    Original post FIXED.


  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    Set to music, with some tiny adjustments.
    image
    i-am-the-resurrection-congregation.png
    4508 x 5750 - 959K
    Thanked by 2OrganistRob320 R J Stove
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    Original:
    V3, line 3: "For if we truly have life we are living in the Lord" ("have life" seems an awkward fit to the tune)

    Suggestion:
    "For truly we have life if we live in Christ our Lord" (eliminates the present progressive tense and the break in meter, but flows better only if sung on one breath or the second breath is taken after "life"...not in the customary location)
    Thanked by 1Adam Wood
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    I kinda like it better.

    But, on the suggestion of my wife who had trouble with 2.2, I removed a similar meter-spanning construction already (compare original post to image above). I imagine the superior poetry you are suggesting would make the singing a bit difficult.

    There SHOULD, btw, be a comma after "life" in the original. (Which makes the If...then more clear.)
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Vs.1, ph.3 : "And all who live for in Jesus..." would seem more consistent with the 2nd phrase use of "in."
    Thanked by 1Adam Wood
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    i agree
  • R J StoveR J Stove
    Posts: 302
    All very good. I hope these words get taken up by choirs and used a lot.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    "And who in him have kept faith" doesn't exactly trip off the tongue.
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    A couple of minor adjustments to the text and I think we're on to a winner here. I'll be adding this one to the gig folder.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    "And who in him have kept faith" doesn't exactly trip off the tongue.

    A couple of minor adjustments to the text


    Suggestions?
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,193
    By faith in Him we/you have life, yet even though we/you die.

    Or, preserving the first person (quotation) of the source:
    "Through faith in Me you have life, yet even though you die."

  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    hrm. have to think about that.

    is "yet even though" redundant?
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,193
    ? although (we all/you too) shall die ?
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    I think this is better, but maybe some other change would be better still:

    "I am the resurrection," he said, "the Life am I."
    And all believing in Him, not one of them shall die.
    For those who trust our savior, who call upon the Lord,
    all they who live for Jesus shall find a sure reward.
    Thanked by 1Adam Wood
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    I think that's better.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    I'm not thrilled about that participle "believing", so I'd be happy to see a better alternative. Also, the shift from quotation to third-person reference may be part of the problem. Perhaps the mode of quotation should be sustained for the first two lines: "and if you believe in me, no, never shall you die" -- though that doesn't scan properly.
  • Marc Cerisier
    Posts: 537
    Did you consider beginning verse 2 with "I know that my Redeemer lives"? Metrically, it seems to fit well. For me, I have trouble singing "I know my saving God lives," even though it fits the meter.

    This is an excellent contribution to the community, I look forward to seeing this develop further, and hope to use it once it's finished.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    Did you consider beginning verse 2 with "I know that my Redeemer lives"? Metrically, it seems to fit well.


    I seriously did think about it- almost did it that way.

    But it requires adding a syllable - which works in THAXTED specifically, but breaks the meter.

    Of course I did that in 3.3 (we are living), but I was actually sort of hoping that someone would come along and suggest an improvement there to get it into the meter more perfectly.

    On the other hand, I've written another text to THAXTED, wherein I pretty much ignored the need for fitting the poetic meter in the abstract, and just wrote to the specific contours of that tune in particular.

    So clearly, I'm not all that scrupulous.

    Hmmm..

    Any one else have an opinion on this matter?
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