Three Days (our world was broken)

This is a hymn about the resurrection which is particularly appropriate for Easter Sunday.

The words were written by American Roman Catholic composer, pastoral musician, journalist, editor and author MD Ridge (1938-2017), and the song was first published in 1999. It was later included in Ridge's 2003 collection "A Light in Darkness".

With meter 13 13 13 11 13 13:

• It was written for a very slightly adapted setting of THAXTED by Gustav Holst(1874–1934), and later arranged by Jeffrey Honoré.
• In 2017 it was published set to an unnamed tune by Casey McKinley (b. 1984) - this is more accessible for smaller churches which do not have the musical to do justice to Holst's music.

Sheet music is available from OCP, or for the entire Light In Darkness collection (links below).

Image adapted from Resurrection / licence.

Downloads

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Sheet music from OCP - THAXTED

Sheet music from OCP - McKinley

Included in the A Light in Darkness octavo packet

Examples

Choir with chamber orchestra, tune THAXTED

Small group with light accompaniment - words on-screen:

Choir with brass - official recording, tune THAXTED

Professional recording, singer and band, McKinley setting

Choir with piano (no brass, so easier to hear the melody in this recording), tune THAXTED

Singer with guitar:

Instrumental - guitar, tune THAXTED

Lyrics

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

1.Three days our world was broken; the Lord of life lay dead.
... Three days we clung together where he had washed our feet.

2.Three days-and on the third day, the women came at dawn ...

3.Three days our world was broken and in an instant healed,
... Yet death has no dominion: the risen Christ is Lord!

See more ...

• Hymns about the resurrection
• Easter hymns

KEEP IN CASE ORIGINAL IS REMOVED, BUT DO NOT DISPLAY
1.Three days our world was broken; the Lord of life lay dead. Take up your cross, he told us who followed where he led. Would we now hang in torment with thieves on ev’ry side, Our Passover shattered, our hope crucified? Three days we hid in silence, in bitter fear and grief. Three days we clung together where he had washed our feet. 2.Three days-and on the third day, the women came at dawn. His tomb, they said, was empty, his broken body gone. Who could believe their story? The dead do not arise, Yet he walks among us, and with our own eyes We’ve seen him at this table; we’ve share his bread and wine. Hearts burning bright within us, we’ve seen his glory shine. 3.Three days our world was broken and in an instant healed, God’s covenant of mercy in mystery revealed. Two thousand years are one day in God’s eternal sight, And yesterday’s sorrows are this day’s delight. Though still Christ’s body suffers, pierced daily by the sword, Yet death has no dominion: the risen Christ is Lord!