"Lead, Kindly Light, Amid the encircling gloom" is a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

with words written in 1833 by

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

as a poem titled "the Pillar of the Cloud", which was first published in the '' British Magazine'' in 1834'','' and republished in ''Lyra Apostolica'' in 1836.

History

As a young priest, Newman became sick while in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and was unable to travel for almost three weeks. In his ''

Apologia Pro Vita Sua () is John Henry Newman's history of his religious opinions, showing how his opinions had been formed and how they had led him from Anglicanism to the Catholic Church. It was originally published as a series of pamphlets in 1864 in response to an ...

'', Newman described the writing thus:

Tune

The first musical setting of "Lead, Kindly Light" was published in '' Hymns Ancient and Modern'' in 1868, set to the

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

''Lux Benigna'', specially composed for the hymn by John Bacchus Dykes. Newman ascribed the popularity of the hymn to Dykes' tune. The hymn was later set to the tune ''Bonifacio'' by David Evans. When the hymn was republished in the 1931 edition of ''

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns, worship songs and inspirational performances in churches of varying denominations from around the UK alongside interviews and stories reflecting how Ch ...

'', it was set to a tune by William Henry Harris entitled ''Alberta'', which he had composed in 1924 on a train crossing Canada. The theologian David Brown notes that ''Lux Benigna'' has been criticised for its Victorian sentimentality, and that Dykes' once-popular tune has fallen out of favour, while Harris's ''Alberta'' has gained popularity. Other popular settings of the hymn include Charles H. Purday's tune ''Sandon'', composed in 1860, and

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

's tune, ''Lux in Tenebris'', which Ian Bradley praises as a "much more sensitive and honest setting of Newman's ambiguity and expressions of doubt" than Dykes's "steady, reassuring" rhythms. "Lead, Kindly Light" has also been set as a choral

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

by Sir

John Stainer Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion (Stainer), The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some Angli ...

(1886).

Notable occasions relating to hymn

The largest mining disaster in the Durham Coalfield in England was at West Stanley Colliery, known locally as "The Burns Pit", when 168 men and boys lost their lives as the result of two underground explosions at 3:45pm on Tuesday 16 February 1909. In the Towneley Seam 63 lay dead, in the Tilley Seam 18 lay dead, in the Busty Seam 33 lay dead and in the Brockwell Seam 48 lay dead. But incredibly, there were still men alive underground. A group of 34 men and boys in the Tilley Seam had found a pocket of clean air. They were led by Deputy Mark Henderson. A few of them panicked and left the group, they died instantly after inhaling the poison gas. The remainder sat in almost total darkness, when one of them began humming the Hymn "Lead Kindly Light". In no time at all, the rest of the miners joined in with the words, "Lead kindly light amidst the encircling gloom, lead thou me on, The night is dark, and I am far from home". This was probably sung to the tune "Sandon" by C. H. Purday, popular with miners in the Durham coalfield. Before the hymn ended, young Jimmy Gardner died of injuries. These 26 men were rescued after 14 hours, four others were later rescued. "Lead, Kindly Light" was sung by Betsie ten Boom, sister of

Corrie ten Boom Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (15 April 1892 – 15 April 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker and later a Christian writer and public speaker, who worked with her father, Casper ten Boom, her sister Betsie ten Boom and other family membe ...

, and other women as they were led by the S.S. Guards to the

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...

during the Holocaust. "Lead, Kindly Light" was sung by a soloist, Marion Wright, on the ''

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that Sinking of the Titanic, sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking Iceberg that struck the Titanic, an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York Ci ...

'' during a hymn-singing gathering led by the Rev. Ernest C. Carter, shortly before the ocean liner struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912. The hymn was also sung aboard one of the ''Titanics lifeboats when the rescue ship '' Carpathia'' was sighted the following morning. It was suggested by one of the occupants, Noëlle, Countess of Rothes. On one occasion in February 1915, "Lead, Kindly Light" was sung by a group of British troops to the accompaniment of nearby artillery fire on the Western Front during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

at services held before going into the

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches res ...

the following day. Since 1922, the hymn "Lead, Kindly Light" is still sung in the morning of famous SB College Changanassery in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

which is said to halt everyone in the region, from their work. It is also the motto for the Cambridge High School,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

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; Our Own English High School,

; The Little Flower Higher Secondary School,

Salem, Tamil Nadu Salem () is a major city in Salem district, located on the banks of the Thirumanimutharu river in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu surrounded by mountains. Salem is the List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, fifth largest urban agglomerati ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

; Soundararaja Vidyalaya, Dindigul,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

; Mangalam College of Engineering, Ettumanoor,

; St. Thomas Public School,

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

; Sri Kumaran Children's Home,

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Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

and for De Paul School, Kuravilangad,

(Malayalam translation). The hymn is referred to in Chapter LVI titled 'Beauty in Loneliness – After All' from Thomas Hardy's novel '' Far From The Madding Crowd''.Thomas Hardy. Far From The Madding Crowd. London: Penguin, 1994. pp. 361-2. The hymn was also a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi and is mentioned at the Gandhi Museum in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It was the favourite hymn of Percy French (1854–1920), who died suddenly in January 1920 at the home of his cousin in

Formby Formby is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under ...

, England. He was on his way back to his family after a final entertainment in Glasgow. These lines from "Lead Kindly Light" are etched on his grave in Saint Luke's Church, Formby: :So long thy power hath blessed me :Sure it still will lead me on, :O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent; :Till the night is gone.

Lyrics

Pirate Verse

Edward Henry Bickersteth (later

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

) added a fourth 'pirate verse' for the poem's republication in the ''Hymnal Companion'' in 1870. It reads: :Meantime, along the narrow rugged path, :Thyself hast trod, :Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith, :Home to my God. :To rest forever after earthly strife :In the calm light of everlasting life. Newman was not pleased, writing to the publishers: "It is not that the verse is not both in sentiment and language graceful and good, but I think you will at once see how unwilling an author must be to subject himself to the inconvenience of that being ascribed to him which is not his own." This verse is not usually included in modern printings of the hymn.

References

External links

{{wikisource, Lead, Kindly Light
Sheet music and recordings from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website
English Christian hymns 19th-century hymns Hymns in The New English Hymnal Works by John Henry Newman