Wedding reading
Be Thou My Vision
Ancient Irish, trans. Mary Byrne 1905
“Be Thou My Vision” (Ancient Irish, trans. Mary Byrne 1905) is a hymn read at weddings and funerals alike. It takes about 4 minutes read aloud, usually by everyone together. It is in the public domain, but we do not set the words here — the note below says what to bring instead, and why.
Why the words are not printed here
Public domain in the Byrne/Hull version. Sung to Slane. Works at a wedding as well.
Where it comes from
Be Thou My Vision is based on a Middle Irish prayer; the best-known English version was translated in 1905 by Mary Elizabeth Byrne and put into verse by Eleanor Hull in 1912. Since 1919 it has commonly been sung to an Irish folk tune known in hymnals as Slane.
What it says
The singer asks God to be everything: their vision, their best thought by day and night, their wisdom and their true word, their battle shield and their high tower. Riches and praise do not matter; God alone is the inheritance. The final verse looks to heaven and asks that, whatever happens, God will still be the vision. It is a prayer for a whole life to be pointed in one direction.
One of the few that sits comfortably at both a wedding and a funeral. Read at weddings and funerals alike. Themes: Irish · gentle · works at a wedding too · Slane.
Who it suits
Both weddings and funerals, which is rare. At a wedding it is a prayer for the life the couple are starting; at a funeral it describes a life that held to its course. It suits Irish families, Catholic and Protestant alike, and people who loved folk music, since the tune is a folk melody.
Where it goes in the ceremony
At a wedding, often the opening hymn or the hymn after the vows. At a funeral, the opening hymn or the hymn after the eulogy. The congregation sings, with organ, piano, guitar or a folk ensemble.
Reading it aloud
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.
- Confirm the tune is Slane, and which of the verses will be sung; hymnals do not all print the same set.
- The tune is gentle and folk-like. If there is a choice, ask for a slower pace than an organist might choose.
- Some modern hymnals update the words. Agree on one version so the printed order matches what is sung.
- At a wedding, do not put it straight after the kiss. It is reflective, not celebratory.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Be Thou My Vision” take to read aloud?
“Be Thou My Vision” takes about 4 minutes read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Be Thou My Vision”?
Everyone together, rather than one reader. “Be Thou My Vision” runs about 4 minutes and needs the words in front of the room — in an order of service, on a screen, or led line by line by the officiant.
Can “Be Thou My Vision” be printed in a ceremony script?
Not by us. Public domain in the Byrne/Hull version. Sung to Slane. Works at a wedding as well.
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- May the Road Rise Up to Meet You25 secondsAn Irish blessing for the end of the same service
- Love Divine, All Loves Excelling4 minutesAnother hymn that works for the start of a marriage
- Proverbs 3:3–635 secondsTrust in the Lord, the same prayer for a straight path
- In the Garden4 minutesC. Austin Miles, 1912
- Amazing Grace4 minutesJohn Newton, 1779
- Abide With Me4 minutesHenry Francis Lyte, 1847