- Lead, Kindly Light
"Lead, Kindly Light" is a
hymn with words written in 1833 byJohn Henry Newman and 4th verse byEdward H. Bickersteth, Jr. . The tune was written byJohn B. Dykes in 1865.As a young priest, John Newman became sick while in
Italy and was unable to travel for almost three weeks. In his own words::Before starting from my inn, I sat down on my bed and began to sob bitterly. My servant, who had acted as my nurse, asked what ailed me. I could only answer, "I have a work to do in
England ." I was aching to get home, yet for want of a vessel I was kept atPalermo for three weeks. I began to visit the churches, and they calmed my impatience, though I did not attend any services. At last I got off in an orange boat, bound forMarseille s. We were becalmed for whole week in theStraits of Bonifacio , and it was there that I wrote the lines, "Lead, Kindly Light", which have since become so well known."Lead, Kindly Light" was sung by a soloist on the "
RMS Titanic " during a hymn-singing gathering led by Rev. Ernest C. Carter, shortly before the ocean liner struck an iceberg onApril 14 1912 . [ cite book | last = Lynch | first = Don | coauthors = Marschall, Ken | title = Titanic - An Illustrated History | origyear = | edition = 2nd edition | year = 1997 | publisher = Hodder & Stoughton | location = London | isbn = 0-340-56271-4 | pages = p. 77 | ]The first verse is:Quote box2 |width= 24em |border= 1px |align= center |bgcolor= #c6dbf7 |halign= left | title="Lead, Kindly Light"|quote="Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me."
References
External links
* [http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=1&searchseqstart=97&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=97&searchsubseqend=ZZZ Lead, Kindly Light] : words and music
* [http://www.lds.org/cm/catalogalphamp3/1,18331,4768-1,00.html?reportStart=2&reportEnd=2&searchPhrase=L Free MP3 download]
* [http://www.wlp.jspaluch.com/wlp/product.asp?category=OCTAVOS&part%5Fno=007269&find%5Fcategory=OCTAVOS&find%5Fdescription=&find%5Fpart%5Fdesc= Lead, Kindly Light Octavo and CD collection available from World Library Publications]
* [http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-138-25,00.html Story on how Lead, Kindly Light came to be]
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