To be a Pilgrim
"To be a Pilgrim" (also commonly known as "He who would Valiant be" is the only hymn John Bunyan is credited with writing but is indelibly associated with him. It first appeared in Part 2 of Pilgrim's Progress, written in 1684. The hymn recalls the words of Hebrews 11:13: "...and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
The words were modified extensively by Percy Dearmer for the 1906 The English Hymnal.[1] At the same time it was given a new tune by British composer Vaughan Williams using the traditional Sussex melody "Monk's Gate". The hymn has also been sung to the melody "Moab" (John Roberts, 1870) and "St. Dunstans" (Charles W. Douglas, 1917).
Bunyan's original version is not commonly sung in churches today, perhaps because of the references to "hobgoblin" and "foul fiend." However, one commentator has said: "Bunyan's burly song strikes a new and welcome note in our Hymnal. The quaint sincerity of the words stirs us out of our easygoing dull Christianity to the thrill of great adventure."[2]
The original version of "To be a Pilgrim" is the school hymn for the Royal Grammar School, Guildford. It is also the school hymn of Newcastle Grammar School.
The hymn's refrain "to be a pilgrim" has entered the language and has been used in the title of a number of books dealing with pilgrimage in a literal or spiritual sense.[3] "To be a Pilgrim" has also been used as the title of a radio play by Rachel Joyce, broadcast as the BBC Four afternoon play. It won the Peter Tinniswood Award in 2007 for best original drama.
[edit] Notable recordings
- Lesley Duncan and Joyce Everson in 1973 on the GM Label in England.
[edit] References
- ^ The English Hymnal, London: Oxford University Press, 1906
- ^ The Hymnal 1940 Companion, New York: The Church Pension Fund, 1949, p. 331.
- ^ For example, the novel To be a Pilgrim by Joyce Cary, To be a Pilgrim: A spiritual notebook by Basil Hume, To be a Pilgrim: The medieval pilgrimage experience by Sarah Hopper, and To be a Pilgrim: The Anglican ethos in history by Frederick Quinn.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- He Who Would Valiant Be, John Bunyan
- Monk's Gate MIDI file
- A verse sung to the melody Monk's Gate
- Who would true valour see,sung by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band
|
|||||
