I Vow to Thee, My Country
I Vow to Thee, My Country is a poem by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice that was given its present form in early 1918. The setting was done in 1921 by Gustav Holst with a melody that hehad borrowed fromthe "Jupiter movement" of his suite The Planets . Since then, I Vow to Thee, My Country has been both a patriotic British song and a hymn in the fellowship of Anglican churches .
history
A first version of the poem was written in 1912 (according to other sources 1908) under the title Urbs Dei , when Spring-Rice was the British ambassador to Sweden . The poet hears the call of the fatherland from across the sea and makes use of the traditional allegory of " Britannia " as an armed woman. Death on the battlefield and the poet's sacrifice are the final themes.
I heard my country calling, away across the sea, across the
waste of waters she calls and calls to me.
Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,
and round her feet are lying the dying and the dead.
I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns,
I haste to thee my mother, a son among thy sons.
I heard my home calling from far
across the sea, across the watery desert calling and calling me.
The sword hangs by her side, she wears her helmet on her head,
and around her feet lie the dying and the dead.
I hear the din of battle and the thunder of their cannons,
I rush to your side, my mother, as one of your sons.
To understand the text, it should be remembered that Spring-Rice was across the sea , namely in Sweden, when he wrote the poem . In English , “ country ” is female, which is why the term was translated as “Heimat” instead of “(father) country” in the German translation .
Spring-Rice took up a post as ambassador to Washington, DC in 1913 . He came into contact with William Jennings Bryan , who was US Secretary of State from 1913 to 1915 . Bryan was a Christian politician who opposed America's entry into the war in World War I and advocated peaceful conflict resolution. When Spring-Rice left Washington in 1917, Bryan gave him an anthology of his speeches. This stimulated Spring-Rice to rewrite under the title The Two Fatherlands .
The theme of the sacrifice of life for the fatherland in the first stanza has since been addressed in more delicate tones without blood and the din of battle. Above all, the “heavenly fatherland” appears in the second stanza. The loyalty of the Christian applies to both fatherlands , but the heavenly fatherland grows in souls on the paths of peace. The martial call to arms in the first version has been turned into a call for peace. Only in this version does the poem get a reference to the “Urbs Dei” in the title, the city of God, which in the earlier version was just a pathetic motto for the fatherland without reference to the content. The second version thus reflects the tradition of Christian thought that goes back to the work of Augustine by Hippo De civitate Dei . There the earthly kingdom is contrasted with the heavenly kingdom. The Christian's true fatherland is therefore out of this world. Spring-Rice's poem balances the Christian's double duty of loyalty to the nation and to God, without giving priority, but faith has the last word. The Christian message is emphasized in the final word “ peace ”.
original
1. I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love,
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best.
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
2. And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.
translation
1. I pledge to you, my land, above all earthly things,
completely and wholly and perfectly, the service of my love,
love that does not ask questions, love that passes the test,
Who is dearest and best on the altar lays.
The love that never wavers, the love that pays the price,
the love that fearlessly gives the final sacrifice.
2. And there is another country that I heard of a long time ago,
Most dear to those who love it , Most great to those who know;
We may not be able to count his armies, we may not see his king;
His fortress is a pious heart, his pride is suffering;
And soul after soul and quietly grow its shining limits,
and its ways are ways of gentleness and all its ways are peace.
Dubbing
The poem was given to the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams with the request for a setting, who passed it on to Gustav Holst. For the setting he used a melody from The Planets . It was published in 1921 and in 1925 I Vow to Thee, My Country was included in the Anglican Church's hymn book Songs of Praise . It became popular in a short period of time and is played and sung outside of clerical contexts, especially during ceremonies for those who died in the world wars.
distribution
The poem set to music is still a widespread patriotic song that has a firm place in the hymn books of schools and traditional universities in the Commonwealth of Nations . It is also a hymn in the Anglican churches. The original version of the poem was occasionally used as a second stanza, but is now generally believed to be out of date and is therefore no longer sung. The BBC has also moved to stop singing the second verse.
Web links
- I Vow to Thee, My Country on Cyber Hymnal
Individual evidence
- ↑ The last line is a quote from Prov 3,17 LUT
- ↑ In this performance by the students of St. Mary's Cathedral College in Sydney in 2007, the second verse is only played and the choir hums along with it.
literature
Mark Browse: O Little Town. Hymn tunes and the places that inspired them. o. O. 2015, pp. 68-72.