Be Thou My Vision

Ancient Irish; tr. Mary E. Byrne, versified Eleanor H. Hull · 1912 · tune SLANE
Key of D · public domain

Words

Verse 1Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Verse 2Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one

Verse 3Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art

Verse 4High King of Heaven, my victory won
May I reach Heaven's joys, O bright Heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all

The story

The words began as an Old Irish poem, Rop tu mo baile, copied by monks and dated by modern scholarship to the tenth or eleventh century. Mary Elizabeth Byrne, a scholar in Dublin, translated it into English prose in 1905 for the journal Eriu (Eriu, with a long e). Eleanor Hull turned that prose into the verses we sing in 1912. The tune is named SLANE, after the hill in County Meath where, in the old account, Patrick lit a paschal fire in defiance of the high king at Tara. Note what the poem actually asks for. Not rescue, not comfort, not even forgiveness. It asks for a way of seeing, and then it lists everything it is willing to hand back in exchange: riches, praise, position. Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise is a hard line to sing honestly.

Chords in D

Verse 1 D G D Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart G D A Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art D G D Thou my best thought, by day or by night G A D Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light Verse 2 D G D Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word G D A I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord D G D Thou my great Father, I Thy true son G A D Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one Verse 3 D G D Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise G D A Thou mine inheritance, now and always D G D Thou and Thou only, first in my heart G A D High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art Verse 4 D G D High King of Heaven, my victory won G D A May I reach Heaven's joys, O bright Heaven's Sun D G D Heart of my own heart, whatever befall G A D Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all

In the app you can move this to any key and it works out the capo for you.

Common questions

Who wrote Be Thou My Vision? Ancient Irish; tr. Mary E. Byrne, versified Eleanor H. Hull wrote the words in 1912.

What tune is it sung to? SLANE, set here in the key of D.

What scripture is it built on? Ephesians 1:18.

Is Be Thou My Vision free to use in church? Yes. The words are public domain, which means any church may sing them, print them in a bulletin, put them on a screen or record them, without asking permission and without paying anyone.

Themes

Devotion · Guidance · Ancient

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