HYMN STORIES: The Songs We Sing
“BE THOU MY VISION”
Be Thou My Vision is possibly the oldest piece of music still sung in the Western world today. A quick look at a hymnal offers little help. “Irish Melody” and “Anonymous” appear where the name of the composer and lyricist should go. Behind it all is a story of Easter: a message of the Resurrection, of new life, and of God’s life-giving grace. The legend behind the melody of Be Thou My Vision begins with St. Patrick, who at sixteen was kidnapped by pirates from Britain and sold into slavery in Ireland. Patrick became a Christian and managed to escape slavery in Ireland and return home to England, but before long, his faith sent him back to Ireland–the land of his slavery–to be a missionary.
What does all this have to do with Be Thou My Vision? On Easter Sunday in 433, the Irish King Lóegaire, who hated Patrick and Christianity, issued a decree in observation of a pagan Druid festival that prohibited anyone from lighting a flame or candle in the region–a decree that intentionally fell on Resurrection Sunday. Patrick, choosing to honor only Christ on Easter, risked his life by climbing to the tallest hill, called Slane Hill, and lit a huge bonfire, a traditional way of celebrating Easter in Medieval times. As the Irish King and his people awoke on Easter morning, they could all see Patrick’s defiance of the king, and the proclamation of the true light of Christ. Patrick wanted to show the world that God’s light shines in darkness, and that Christ alone–and no Druid deity–deserves praise. An unknown composer wrote a melody in honor of Patrick’s heroism. Called, “Slane,” the now-forgotten composer named it after the hill where Patrick shined his light: Slane Hill.
While the story behind the melody is legendary, the history behind the lyrics is much more obscure. Tradition tells us that an Irish poet from the 6th century Dallan Forgaill wrote a Gaelic poem entitled Rop tu mo Baile, in honor of St. Patrick. In 1905, nearly fifteen hundred years after Saint Patrick lit a flame on Slane Hill, the forgotten hymn re-emerged. Mary Elizabeth Byrnea, a 25-year-old university student, rediscovered a copy of the 14th-century poem and translated it into English for the very first time. Linking it with the hymn tune “Slane” the hymn appeared in its first hymnal in 1919. In 2019, the world celebrated the 100th anniversary of the modern version of Be Thou My Vision.
Be Thou My Vision is truly an Easter song of new life. It’s the song of the new life of Saint Patrick, who shined his light for Christ. It’s the song of new life in the sinner’s heart, where God shines His forgiveness in a dark soul. No one’s story is done whose pages rest in the hands of the Father. No song is too old that it cannot be sung again in the choir of God’s grace. Be Thou My Vision is a reminder that man’s ways are not God’s ways. His grace shines bright, as it did on Slane Hill in the days of Saint Patrick.
Lindrew Johnson
