Lord of all Hopefulness

This is a hymn of petition, which calls on God's presence through all the stages of life - making it a popular choice for both weddings and funerals.

It was written by English writer Joyce Placzek, nee Maxtone Graham, nee Anstruther (1901–1953), who published under the pen name Jan Struther.

It was written in 1929 at the request of Percy Dearmer for his new edition of Songs of Praise, which was eventually published in by Oxford University Press in 1931 (ref).

Since then, it has since been published in many other hymnals including Mayhew Publications' Hymns Old and New and McCrimmon's Cleebration Hymnal for Everyone.

With meter 10.11.11.12, tunes it is set to include:

• SLANE, a traditional Irish tune, composer unknown, the most common tune for this hymn.
• MINIVER by Cyril Vincent Taylor (1907-1991), published in The BBC Hymnal 1951, and named for a character in one of Struther's best-known novels.

The song enjoyed a surge of popularity when it was used as was the opening hymn for an English  royal wedding in 2018.

Downloads

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For congregation, SATB choir, Organ, bells - by Michael Burkhardt. Includes reproducible pages

Examples

Congregation and choir with organ:

Choir with very light organ backing:

Choir with light orchestral instruments:

Choir, professional recording, piano accompaniment:

Solo singer, flute and piano accompaniment (the video does plays, even though it looks lot-found)

Folk band:

Instrumental - organ.

Lyrics

The lyrics are still copyright so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available on this website. A rough outline is:

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
...  At the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
... At the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
... At the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
... At the end of the day.

ABC Notation

About ABC notation

X:1
T:SLANE
O:Ireland
Z:abc-transcription www.GodSongs.net
M:3/4
L:1/8
K:Gmaj
"G"G2 G2 AG|"C"E2 D2 DE |"G"G2 G2 "D"A2 |"G"B4 z2 |
"D"A2 A2 A2|A2 B2 d2|"C"e2 d2 B2|"D"d4 z2|
"Em"e2 ef gf|"C"e2 d2 B2|"G"d2 G2 F2|"C"E4 D2|
"G"G2 B2 d2|"Em"ed B2 GB|"D"A2 G2 G2|"G"G6 ||

See more ...

• Hymns for funerals
• Hymns for weddings
• Hymns of petition

KEEP IN CASE THE MAIN SOURCE IS REMOVED
1 Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy, Whose trust, ever childlike, no cares could destroy, be there at our waking, and give us, we pray, Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, At the break of the day. 2 Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith, Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe, Be there at our labours and give us, we pray, Your strength in our hearts, Lord, At the noon of the day. 3 Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace, Your hands swift to welcome, Your arms to embrace. Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray, Your love in our hearts, Lord, At the eve of the day. 4 Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm, whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm, be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray, Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.