Song facts
- Original key
- G major
- Type
- Hymn
- Music
- Lowell Mason (died 1872)
- Original lyrics
- Sarah Flower Adams (died 1848)
- First published
- 1841
Public-domain songs · Hymn instrumental
Nearer, My God, to Thee
Play the Nearer, My God, to Thee instrumental in the original key of G major, or from 3 semitones lower to 2 higher. Made by MR Maker from a public-domain score.
Last reviewed:
Backing track by key
The original key is G major. If it sits too high or too low for your voice, try the shifted versions and pick the one you can sing comfortably.
3 semitones lower (E major)
2 semitones lower (F major)
Original key (G major)
2 semitones higher (A major)
About this song
Sarah Flower Adams, an English Unitarian poet, wrote this text in 1841 at her home in Loughton, Essex, drawing on Jacob's dream of a ladder to heaven in Genesis 28. Her sister, the composer Eliza Flower, first set it for W. J. Fox's collection Hymns and Anthems. Outside Britain it is sung to Lowell Mason's BETHANY, dated 1856 or 1859 depending on the source, while British books favor Dykes's HORBURY. The 1920 Army and Navy Hymnal prints BETHANY in G major, 6/4.
Rights
The melody is in the public domain (first published 1841). MR Maker made this accompaniment from a public-domain score. It contains no lyrics, translations or third-party recordings.
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