Abide with Me
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Abide with Me

"Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn written by Henry Francis Lyte in 1847 while he lay dying from tuberculosis; he survived only a further three weeks after its completion.

Lyrics

The hymn is a prayer for God to remain present with the speaker throughout life, through trials, and through death. The first verse is probably the most well-known:

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Tune

The hymn tune most often used with this hymn is "Eventide" composed by William H. Monk in 1861.¹

Alternate tunes include:

• "Abide with Me", Hen­ry Lyte, 1847
• "Morecambe", Fred­er­ick C. At­kins­on, 1870
• "Penitentia", Ed­ward Dearle, 1874
• "Woodlands", Walter Greatorex 1916

Popular use

Religious services

The hymn is popular across many denominations, and was said to be a favourite of King George V² and Mahatma Gandhi. It was sung at the weddings of King George VI and of his daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II. It is also often sung at Christian funerals.

Sporting events

Since 1927 it has been sung before the kick-off at every FA Cup Final and Rugby League Challenge Cup final.

A live recording of the hymn, performed by the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Choir at the memorial service for victims of the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989, was released as a B side for the "Ferry Cross the Mersey" charity single which topped the UK singles chart for three weeks in May, 1989.

Military services

The hymn is sung at the annual Anzac Day services in Australia and New Zealand,³ and in some Remembrance Day services in Canada⁴ and the United Kingdom. It is also played by the combined bands of the Indian Defence Forces during the annual Beating Retreat ceremony held on 29 January. A choral version of this hymn has been arranged by Moses Hogan.

Jazz

Thelonious Monk recorded a simple yet remarkably elegant instrumental version of the hymn with his jazz septet under the title "Abide with Me" as start of the 1957 album Monk's Music. In 2006 two different tracks have been reissued as start of the second disc of The Complete 1957 Riverside Recordings, the documentation of the cooperation of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane.

In Films and Television

• In the film Shane.
• In an episode of Touched by an Angel Tess develops Alzheimer's Disease, and keeps words "the darkness deepens" while Monica becomes increasing distraught by the illness. When Monica finally accepts Tess's illness, Tess then sings the next line, "Lord, with me abide" and has a miraculous recovery.
• In the film A Bridge Too Far, wounded British paratroopers trapped in Arnhem sing this hymn at a field hospital during a ceasefire.
• In a flashback during an episode of the television series Lost, this hymn is played on the organ as the character Charlie is in confession.
• In The Full Monty Lomper plays "Abide with Me" at his mothers funeral scene.
• The Danny Boyle film 28 Days Later has the hymn on its soundtrack: A female solo rendition can be heard in the background of the scene where Jim returns to his parents' house in Deptford and finds their bodies.
• The hymn appears at the end of the Doctor Who episode "Gridlock", in which "The Old Rugged Cross" also appears. " Abide with Me" also appears on the series 3 soundtrack. The line "change and decay in all around I see" was quoted in the 1980s Doctor Who story Kinda.
• In Latter Days the hymn is heard.
• In 1991, TV personality Vic Reeves wrote a dance-mixed version of the song on his album, 'I Will Cure You'. The version features dance beats and is of the rave style, popular during the early nineties.
• In 1997, "Abide with Me" was recorded by Sir Elton John and included in the album Carnival: Rainforest Foundation Concert. A live version has been broadcast featured in the TV show called An Evening with Elton John.
• In the un-completed HBO Series Carnivale (2nd Season), Hawkins grandmother sings "Abide With Me" while she's in the graveyard, showing Hawkins his relatives graves.
• ITV are using the tune for their FA Cup coverage, the tune accompanies famous moments from the FA Cup as people build the FA Cup on a hillside.

Other

• In Salisbury, Rhodesia, on November 11, 1968, the British South Africa Police Band played "Abide with Me" when the 1964 Rhodesian Flag bearing the Union Jack was lowered for the last time and replaced by the flag that lasted until the end of White minority rule.

References

External links

• http://www.know-britain.com/hymns/abide_with_me.html
• http://www.nationwide.co.uk/sponsorship/FA-Cup/default.htm
• Anthem4England.co.uk