For Remembrance Sunday: I Vow to Thee My Country

This poem comes with much baggage, all of which can be found on the Net for those who are interested. It is one of the seminal hymn-poems of the British nation and should not be allowed to fade away, which is why I am reading it here. Our heritage is to be honoured, not reviled as has been the fashion over the last few decades. Mercifully, the tide is now rapidly turning and we can celebrate what we were and are.

FOR REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY:

IN MEMORIAM PETER FRANK HENRY KINGMAN

Urbs Dei or The Two Fatherlands
by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice (1859-1918)

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

I heard my country calling, away across the sea,
Across the waste of waters she calls and calls to me.
Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,
And round her feet are lying the dying and the dead.
I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns,
I haste to thee my mother, a son among thy sons.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

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[Sjukurkottur]

I wonder if people in britain still understand the reference in the last verse, linking our faith and support for our country to our love of God and His glorious kingdom.

Especially when they always skip the middle verse, which makes the third one an even more strong conclusion that serving our country is serving God on high.

I have been trying to find the middle verse sung somewhere, has it not been sung in any recording by a professional choir? I would f.e. expect the military to use it stil

[brychar66]

@Sjukurkottur Thanks. When I was young (a few decades ago!) we sang this hymn often. Then came a period when many people were embarrassed by it due to its patriotism & religiosity. Hopefully we can now accept it with open minds. The last verse has always given me shivers of mystical delight :)

[anglicansag]

You've made this American cry on your behalf and on behalf of The Fallen.

We Must Always Remember.

✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙

[brychar66]

You have a kind and true Anglican heart beating in your American breast Scott! xxx

[tenneral]

Great video: and thank you for including the second verse which I had never heard before - thanks to the popularity of the hymn version.

[brychar66]

You'll appreciate this note about the hymn, from Wikipedia, Michael:

In August 2004, the Right Reverend Stephen Lowe, Bishop of Hulme, called for it not to be used in Church of England services, calling it "totally heretical"

God bless the Bishop of Hulme - not!

[loveyoutodeathbut]

You wring so much passion out of these words. It was exceptional, thank you!

[WTFBBQ5]

Wonderful reading... So proud...

[foxholeathiest]

Its in this soldiers will to have the second verse included at my funeral. This is the first time I've seen it done in any public place. Thank you.

[stephiannie91277]

I hate the fact they are constantly taking out the middle verse incase it upsets the non English. It was written for England not the others so kiss it!!!

[SSgtWalkersmom]

I had this sung for my son, SSgt Allan K Walker, USMC, at his funeral service on April 17, 2004. For me, the baggage is not that it is unthinking or racist or imperialist, or even un-Christian. After all, it is "all earthly things above", not "everything above." Those in military service put duty to country above evreything that the rest of us put first. How fitting that their "another country" would be one where "the ways are ways of gentleness, and all the paths are peace."

[MrJonathanSwift]

Interesting that you included the second verse, which has been omitted in many editions of this song.

The music has found its way into the Lutheran Service Book (LSB) for use in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

It was also in the Japanese TV series Nodame Cantabile.

Sometimes the song gives me goosebumps with the part about making undaunted the final sacrifice.

[TankGun90]

Amazing, very amazing. Thank you for uploading and thank you for putting the second verse which is so sadly forgotten these days.

Thank you very much

-TankGun from Canada :)

[thebigJM92]

This poem is....perfect. This music is....perfect.

Bravo and an excellent job.

Regards from a fellow Anglican and proud English and British man.

[kirshara]

Beautiful. Rule Britannia