"" (Bless you, Mary) is a Christian

Marian hymn Marian hymns are Christian songs focused on Mary, mother of Jesus. They are used in devotional and liturgical services, particularly by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. Some have been a ...

in German with text by

Cordula Wöhler Cordula Wöhler, later Cordula Schmid, pseudonym Cordula Peregrina (17 June 1845 – 6 February 1916) was a German author of Christian poetry and hymns, whose " Segne du, Maria" is among the most popular Marian hymns in the Germanosphere. Wö ...

in 1870, and a melody composed by

Karl Kindsmüller Karl Kindsmüller (9 April 1876 in Poikam (now part of Bad Abbach) – 26 August 1955 in Regensburg) was a German priest and composer. Kindsmüller attended the (Katholische Kirchenmusikschule) in Regensburg. He was ordained priest in 1900. He wa ...

and published in 1916, after the author's death. On popular demand, it is contained in the ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speak ...

'' of 2013, and other hymnals and songbooks.

History

wrote the text of "" on 31 May 1870. She was raised in a Lutheran pastor's household, but planned to convert to Catholicism that year and was expelled from her home. She possibly expressed her feelings in the hymn. Karl Kindsmüller, a priest, teacher, and lecturer at

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

's school of church music, composed a melody in 1916 or earlier. It was first published after Wöhler's death on a devotional leaflet, whose ''

imprimatur An imprimatur (sometimes abbreviated as ''impr.'', from Latin, "let it be printed") is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the Catho ...

'' is dated 2 June 1916. The hymn became part of collections and hymnals such as in Regensburg in 1919, in Munich in 1926 and in Altötting in 1938. In the common German Catholic hymnal ''Gotteslob'' in 1975, it appeared only in six regional sections. The preferred styles of the 1970s were

Neues Geistliches Lied (, ''new spiritual song''), abbreviated NGL, is a music genre of songs in German intended for church usage, and based on contemporary lyrics and with music by contemporary composers. History The idea to reach young people by new songs for ...

and texts inspired by the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. In a survey in parishes in Germany and Austria, to find missing songs for the second edition, it was the song missed most. It was included in the common section of the 2013 edition as GL 535. It is also part of other hymnals and songbooks.

Text and theme

The text that Wöhler wrote for "" had nine

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

s of eight short lines each. The version in ''Gotteslob'' has three stanzas, and other prints usually also shorten the poetry. In the first stanza, Mary is addressed intimately as "du, Maria" (you, Mary), and is repeatedly requested to bless the singer, who identifies as "dein Kind" (your child). Lines 3 and 4 ask for blessing to find peace here (meaning: on earth), and heaven there. The last lines say: "Lass in deinem Segen / Tag und Nacht mich ruhn" (Let me rest in your blessing day and night). The second stanza widens the view, requesting blessing for "alle, die mir lieb" (all dear to me). The final lines read: "Segne alle Herzen, / segne jedes Haus" (Bless all hearts, bless each house). The final stanza reflects the hour of death which is also prominently mentioned in the

Ave Maria The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...

. The text ends: "Bleib in Tod und Leben / unser Segen du" (Remain in death and life our blessing, you"), picking up the "du" from the very beginning at the end.

Melody and usage

The melody for "" was composed by Karl Kindsmüller. He repeated the last two lines with increased intensity. The song is popular for May devotion and funerals. It has been described as "naiver Schlager", with a sweet yearning, but hidden depth. Several people, such as

Joachim Meisner Joachim Meisner (25 December 1933 – 5 July 2017) was a German Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Cologne from 1989 to 2014. He previously served as Bishop of Berlin from 1980 to 1989, and was created a cardinal in 1983. He was wid ...

, have declared it their favourite hymn. He was a sceptic as a young man, but came to respect the song when more and more severely ill people asked him to sing it for them, and to repeat it when they died.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 19th-century hymns in German 1870 songs Marian hymns