Abide With Me

Public domain, so this verse can be printed in a script or an order of service. The rest of the hymn is in the book the venue sings from — printing a full hymn text is a separate permission from singing it.

Henry Francis Lyte, an Anglican cleric, wrote Abide with Me in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis, and it is most often sung to the tune Eventide by William Henry Monk. Its first and last verses are traditionally sung before the FA Cup Final, first formally before the 1927 final between Arsenal and Cardiff City.

Evening is falling fast and the darkness is deepening, and the singer asks God to stay. Other helpers fail and comforts run away, but God is the help of the helpless. Later verses compare a life to a short day that ebbs out, ask for God’s presence through every hour, and end at the point of death itself, asking God to hold the cross before closing eyes. It is a prayer for company through the last of the light.

Traditional and slow. Suits an older congregation who will actually sing. Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: eventide · traditional · an older congregation · evening · comfort.

A traditional funeral with an older congregation who will sing it properly, especially in British, Australian and Canadian families. It suits someone who died after a long decline, and football families who know it from the Cup Final. It is slow and solemn, so it can feel heavy at a celebration of life; pick something brighter if the family want uplift.

Usually the last hymn, before the commendation or committal, or as the coffin is carried out. The congregation sings with the organ.

Sung through by the room, allow about 4 minutes, depending on how many verses the venue’s book carries and how slowly the organist takes it.

• Agree the verses beforehand. The full hymn is longer than most hymnals print, and they print different selections.
• It is slow. Warn whoever plays it that the room may be quiet, and ask them to lead firmly.
• If it is played at the end, plan where you stand while the coffin leaves, and whether the family follow during the last verse.
• The fact that Lyte wrote it while dying is worth knowing but rarely worth saying at the service.

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