SSG10-Week3 Be thou, O God, exalted high

[jamestoffee]

SSG10-Week3 Be thou, O God, exalted high
Lyrics: anonymous (1551) http://pdmusic.org/hymns/Psalm_100_%28Old%29.txt

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11215471

1.
Fmaj 7
Be thou, O God, exalted high,
G#maj7
And as thy glory fills the sky,
Fmaj7….C...Ebmaj7…..Bb
So let it be on earth display'd,
Db……………Ab……….C7……..F
'Till thou art here as there obey'd.

2.
Bb……………F…………..A7…….Dm
To take me they their net prepar'd,
Bb………….F………….C7………A7
And had almost my soul ensnar'd;
Dm……..Am……………….Cm………Bb
But fell themselves, by just decree,
Bbm…….F……….C………..A7
Into the pit they made for me.

3.
Fmaj 7
O God, my heart is fix'd, 'tis bent,
G#maj7
Its thankful tribute to present;
Fmaj7….C...Ebmaj7…..Bb
And, with my heart, my voice I'll raise,
Db……………Ab……….C7……..F
To thee, my God, in songs of praise:

4.
Bb……………F……..A7..…….Dm
Awake, my glory; harp and lute,
Bb………….F………….C7………A7
No longer let your strings be mute;
Dm………..Am…….Cm………Bb
And I, my tuneful part to take,
Bbm….......….F……….C………..A7
Will with the early dawn awake.

5.
Bb……………F……..A7..…….Dm
Thy praises, Lord, I will resound
Bb………….F………….C7………A7
To all the list'ning nations round;
Dm………..Am…….C………Bb
Thy mercy highest Heav'n transcends;
Db……………Ab……….C7……..F
Thy truth beyond the clouds extends.

6.
Fmaj 7
Be thou, O God, exalted high,
G#maj7
And as thy glory fills the sky,
Fmaj7….C...Ebmaj7…..Bb
So let it be on earth display'd,
Db……………Ab……….C7……..F
'Till thou art here as there obey'd.

[Nick]

Is this the original?

[jamestoffee]

Hi Nick,

Is this the original?

Regarding the lyrics, I found them at this web site and left them as is: I was assuming it meant the author was unknown an it was written around 1551.

Lyrics: anonymous (1551) http://pdmusic.org/hymns/Psalm_100_%28Old%29.txt

Other than that, I don't know what the source is.....It's not the Psalm 100 from the Bible so that's why I changed the title
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?se ... ersion=NIV

Is this the original?

Musically, I don't know what the original tune was......so I "wrote" the melody line and chord progressions....that is to say, there was not particular song I was consciously stealing it from......

.....Except that this section I know what tune I was "thinking of":
Dm……..Am……………….Cm………Bb
But fell themselves, by just decree

I was hearing this section of the song "The Prayer"
1:03 to 1:10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJkq-U7_8ZA

.....but even that doesn't sound exactly like the melody from "The Prayer"

.....So I guess the only feedback I was wondering was it entertaining and was it a good match of music to the words. It was a music experiment on my part.

I can remember hearing my grandfather and mother singing some what of a similar style from old hymns when I was young (and didn't like "their" music). Although there were times they would hit a note with such passion, it would make the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

Thanks for the listen and post BTW

Thoughts?

James

[Nick]

Oh....I see, fantastic. I was actually going with modifying the lyrics, but hey, what you did is cool. I'll give a listen in a bit.

[straycat.]

Hi James!

Whoa, the work you put into this!!
Love how the melody picks up with the fourth stanza. #4 and #5 sound great to me, probably also because of the contrast to the rest which is more chanting-in-church-like-ish?

Cheers,
straycat.