All Things Bright And Beautiful

  

Wikipedia tells us this about the hymn:

"All Things Bright and Beautiful" is an Anglican hymn, also sung in many other Christian denominations. The words are by Cecil Frances Alexander and were first published in her Hymns for Little Children.

The melody originated from the 17th-century English country dance tune "The 29th of May." This was later adapted by Martin Shaw and William Henry Monk. There have also been other adaptations, such as a full choral piece by John Rutter. In earlier editions of the Church of Scotland's Church Hymnary, the tunes "God in Nature" by John Stainer and "All Things Bright" by Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley had been used. The chorus has been recommended as a Christian song for children to learn, even for children as young as five years of age.

The hymn was first published in 1848 in Mrs Cecil Alexander's Hymns for Little Children. It consists of a series of stanzas that elaborate upon verses of the Apostles' Creed. It may have been inspired by Psalm 104, verses 24 and 25: "Oh Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts". The hymn may have been inspired as well by a verse from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: "He prayeth best, who loveth best; All things great and small; For the dear God who loveth us; He made and loveth all." Alternatively, inspiration may have come from William Paley's Natural Theology, published in 1802, that argues for God as the designer of the natural world. For example, the hymn's second verse alludes to "wings" and verse 7 refers to "eyes". Paley cited wings and eyes as examples of complexity of design, analogous to that of a watch, with God as the Divine Watchmaker.

Alexander's composition of the hymn's text has been attributed to three locations: Llanwenarth House in Govilon, Monmouthshire – the refrain "The purple headed mountains, The river running by" possibly referring to the Sugar Loaf and Blorenge mountains and to the River Usk; Markree Castle near Sligo, and Minehead and the nearby village of Dunster in 1848, in which case the "purple headed mountain" might refer to Grabbist Hill and the river to the River Avill.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colours,

He made their tiny wings.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

The purple-headed mountain,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning,

That brightens up the sky.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,

He made them every one.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

The tall trees in the greenwood,

The meadows for our play,

The rushes by the water,

To gather every day.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all...

I am always open to suggestions for songs to be used, as well as other suggestions you might have for the blog. If you would rather not share that info in the comments, you may email your suggestions.