Be Thou My Vision

Sooooo Since my post last week one of my friends commented and told me i should put up some of the history behind the songs. soooooooo here we go!

This weeks song is Be Thou My Vision, It was written in 6th Century Ireland by a poet named Dallan Forgaill. It is said that he wrote and studied so much that they believe it lead him to blindness. He wrote the hymn as a prayer and used it widely in monastic traditions. It was written in Old Irish and it wasn’t untill 1905 that Mary Byrne translated it into English and later in 1912 Elanor Hull put it to verses, where we get the version we sing today.

The tune behine the words has a very cool story as well. The tune is called Slane from 8th century Ireland. Its name is taken from a historical event called Slane Hill. King Logaire had decreed that no one was allowed to build a fire until he had lit his to announce the start of the pagan spring festival.  St. Patrick defied the royal order and lit candles on the Eve of the festival. The King was so impressed by Patrick’s defiance that he pardoned him and allowed him to continue his missionary work in Ireland. St. Patrick would go on to convert 100,000 people and establish 2,000 churches. It was even further mentioned that St. Patrick had been kidnapped by pirates and forced to be a slave in Ireland! Wow pretty intense! Enjoy!