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Christ in Song 547

Lead, Kindly Light

Words: Cardinal NewmanMusic: J. B. Dykes

Studio

1Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead thou me on;
The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead thou me on;
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

2I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path, but now
Lead thou me on;
I loved the garish day, and spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.

3So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on,
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

The verse

Meter
16.14.10.10
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 61% of beats fit
Rhyme
AABB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead thou me on;//˘/˘/˘˘/˘˘///˘˘16A
The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead thou me on;˘/˘/˘˘˘/˘///˘˘14A
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see//˘/˘˘˘/˘/10B
The distant scene; one step enough for me.˘/˘///˘/˘˘10B

Verse 2

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou shouldst lead me on;˘˘˘/˘/˘/˘/?/˘˘14A
I loved to choose and see my path, but now˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/10B
Lead thou me on;//˘˘4A
I loved the garish day, and spite of fears,˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/10C
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.//˘˘˘/˘˘//10C

Verse 3

So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on,˘///˘//˘/˘/˘/˘˘15A
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till//˘///˘/˘/10B
The night is gone,˘/˘/4C
And with the morn those angel faces smile,˘˘˘/˘/˘/˘/10D
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.˘˘˘///˘/˘/10D

Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.