Wow! I thought I’d do a familiar song today and discovered a raft of different tunes for this song. So I’ll be sharing three different versions below, I wasn’t going to share all I found. 🙂
Anyways, this song was written by Bernard of Clairvaux, 12th Century. He was a French Abbot who founded a monastery called Claire Vallée which over time morphed into Clairvaux. He was very instrumental in the Catholic church, helping to heal schisms and watch for heresy. He was blamed for the failure of the Second Crusade (something which saddened him greatly). One of his disciples became Pope Eugene III. This song originally appeared in Latin and as translated by Ray Palmer.
I really liked this accapella version that I found though the tune was completely different. What do you think?
This is the tune I grew up with:
The Lyrics:
Jesus, Thou Joy of loving hearts,
Thou Fount of life, Thou Light of men,
From the best bliss that earth imparts,
We turn unfilled to Thee again.
Thy truth unchanged hath ever stood;
Thou savest those that on Thee call;
To them that seek Thee Thou art good,
To them that find Thee all in all.
We taste Thee, O Thou living Bread,
And long to feast upon Thee still;
We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead,
And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.
Our restless spirits yearn for Thee,
Wherever our changeful lot is cast;
Glad when Thy gracious smile we see,
Blessed when our faith can hold Thee fast.
O Jesus, ever with us stay,
Make all our moments calm and bright;
Chase the dark night of sin away,
Shed over the world Thy holy light.
This seems like a nice quiet version eh? It’s also a new one to me.
Which version are you familiar with? Perhaps even one I didn’t share! 🙂