Fish the Right

Nearer, My God, to Thee

Words: Sarah F. Adams · Tune: BETHANY, Lowell Mason

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Organ and orchestra: an introduction, then each of the 5 verses. Tap a verse’s number to start there.
  1. Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee!E'en though it be a crossThat raiseth me;Still all my song shall be,Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee!
  2. Though like the wanderer,The sun gone down,Darkness be over me,My rest a stone;Yet in my dreams I'd beNearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee!
  3. There let the way appear,Steps unto heav'n;All that Thou sendest me,In mercy giv'n;Angels to beckon meNearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee!
  4. Then, with my waking thoughtsBright with Thy praise,Out of my stony griefsBethel I'll raise;So by my woes to beNearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee!
  5. Or if, on joyful wingCleaving the sky,Sun, moon, and stars forgot,Upward I fly,Still all my song shall be,Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee!

About this hymn

Words
Sarah F. Adams, 1841. As printed in Book of Worship with Hymns and Tunes (1899), no. 428.
Tune
BETHANY, Lowell Mason, 1856.
Harmony
Lowell Mason, in The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book, 1859. Score from the Open Hymnal Project. Sarah Adams’s five stanzas; the Open Hymnal’s file sets later stanzas by other writers.
Recordings
Arranged and recorded by Fish the Right, from the harmony above: the melody note for note and every chord the hymnal’s own. Played on the Salamander Grand Piano V3 by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0), with organ, strings, brass and timpani from VSCO 2 Community Edition by Versilian Studios (the organ sampled by Simon Dalzell); drums from Virtuosity Drums and bass from Black And Blue Basses by Versilian Studios and Karoryfer Samples; pads from GeneralUser GS by S. Christian Collins; made with abcMIDI, sfizz, FluidSynth and FFmpeg.
Rights
Words 1841, tune 1856, setting 1859: all published before 1931, so public domain in the United States. Checked: words (hymnary.org), tune (hymnary.org), harmony (openhymnal.org).
Scripture
Genesis 28:10–22