Sing of Mary Pure and Lowly

This is a hymn about Mary.  

It was created by English-born Canadian Anglican priest, Roland F Palmer SSJE (1891-1985).  He set the words from a poem, published anonymously in 1914, to the tune HERMON by Charles Venn Pilcher (1879-1961).  The resulting hymn was first published in 1938 in the Canadian Book of Common Praise.

Later publications have used different adjectives in the first two lines, eg "Sing of Mary meek and lowly, Virgin-mother pure and mild".

With meter 8.7.8.7D, the hymn has also been set to other tunes:

• PLEADING SAVIOR by American Congregational minister Joshua Leavitt (1794-1873) is the most-commonly-used 
• RAQUEL by Skinner Chávez-Melo (1985)
• BLAENWERN by William Penfro Rowlands (1860-1937) - ref
• An unnamed tune by Fr. J. Roel Lungay (b 1960) - see video below.

It has been translated into languages including Swedish (Sång till Måne och Sunna).

Downloads

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PowerPoint
slides

Choral arrangements (SATB) by several different composers

Examples

Choir with organ, tune PLEADING SAVIOUR

Instrumental (piano), tune PLEADING SAVIOUR

Solo singer, piano accompaniment - unnamed tune by Lungay

Quartet in church - piano accompaniment, tune PLEADING SAVIOUR

Instrumental - organ - tune BLAENWERN

Lyrics

Sing of Mary, pure and lowly,
Virgin-mother undefiled.
Sing of God's own Son most holy,
Who became her little child.
Fairest child of fairest mother,
God the Lord who came to earth,
Word made flesh, our very brother,
Takes our nature by his birth.

Sing of Jesus, son of Mary,
In the home at Nazareth.
Toil and labour cannot weary
Love enduring unto death.
Constant was the love he gave her,
Though he went forth from her side,
Forth to preach, and heal, and suffer,
Till on Calvary he died.

Sing of Mary, sing of Jesus,
holy Mother's holier son.
From his throne in heav'n he sees us,
thither calls us ev'ry one,
where he welcomes home his Mother
to a place at his right hand,
there his faithful servants gather,
there the crowned victors stand.

Joyful Mother, full of gladness,
in your arms your Lord was borne.
Mournful Mother, full of sadness,
all your heart with pain was torn.
Glorious Mother, now rewarded
with a crown at Jesus' hand,
age to age your name recorded
shall be blest in every land.

Glory be to God the Father;
Glory be to God the Son;
Glory be to God the Spirit;
Glory to the Three in One.
From the heart of blessed Mary,
From all saints the song ascends,
And the church the strain re-echoes
Unto earth's remotest ends.

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• Hymns about Mary

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Sing of Mary, pure and lowly,
Virgin-mother undefiled.
Sing of God's own Son most holy,
Who became her little child.
Fairest child of fairest mother,
God the Lord who came to earth,
Word made flesh, our very brother,
Takes our nature by his birth.

Sing of Jesus, son of Mary,
In the home at Nazareth.
Toil and labour cannot weary
Love enduring unto death.
Constant was the love he gave her,
Though he went forth from her side,
Forth to preach, and heal, and suffer,
Till on Calvary he died.

Sing of Mary, sing of Jesus,
holy Mother's holier son.
From his throne in heav'n he sees us,
thither calls us ev'ry one,
where he welcomes home his Mother
to a place at his right hand,
there his faithful servants gather,
there the crowned victors stand.

Joyful Mother, full of gladness,
in your arms your Lord was borne.
Mournful Mother, full of sadness,
all your heart with pain was torn.
Glorious Mother, now rewarded
with a crown at Jesus' hand,
age to age your name recorded
shall be blest in every land.

Glory be to God the Father;
Glory be to God the Son;
Glory be to God the Spirit;
Glory to the Three in One.
From the heart of blessed Mary,
From all saints the song ascends,
And the church the strain re-echoes
Unto earth's remotest ends.