As an antidote to the superficial found in some P&W songs for which I have been making backings, I am taking solace in hymns by John Bell, this one written with his long time writing partner Graham Maule.
This song would be moving with its fierce and unflinching text and its lovely setting in Bell’s arrangement of YE BANKS AND BRAES without knowing that it was written for a service after the Dunblane massacre in 1996. I find it hard to sing… This is a nice appreciation of the hymn.
The text is here. The sheet music can be purchased at GIA but the tune itself is public domain and available on the net.