This hymn about God's comforting presence was written by Irish Roman
Catholic priest, song-writer and performer Liam Lawton, following his
experience of grief following the death of an uncle (ref).
It became well-know after being widely used in American at following the
World Trade Centre 9/11 bombings in 2001, and was included in Lawton's
2004 "Another World" album (ref). It is now popular for both weddings and funerals.
copyright
so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available
on this website. A rough outline is:
The chorus has two sections. Some earlier publication had the
phrase "God is by my side" after each of the sections in the
chorus. But later versions all have "You are my side"after the
first section, and "God is by my side" after the second.
The song is set to an unnamed tune, also by Lawton. This has a 4/4 time
signature. In the key of D, the first few notes are FFFF E A E
F with accompanying chords D / A / F#m
Downloads
Examples
Singer with guitar accompaniment:
Recording by Liam Lawton
Singer with piano, professional recording:
Singer self-accompanied on organ
Performed by Lawton at a memorial service, piano accompaniment:
Choir with piano accompaniment:
Lyrics
The lyrics areEven when the rain hides the stars
Even though the mist swirls the hills,Even when the dark clouds veil the sky,You are by my side,You are by my side.Even when the sun shall fall in sleep,Even when at dawn the sky shall weep,Even in the night when storms shall rise,God is by my side,God is by my side.1 Bright the stars at night ...2 Deep the feast of life ...3 Blest are they who sing ...
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