1. Nearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee!E’en though it be a crossThat raiseth me.Still all my song shall beNearer, my God, to thee,Nearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee!
2. Though like the wanderer,The sun gone down,Darkness be over me,My rest a stone,Yet in my dreams I’d beNearer, my God, to thee,Nearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee!
3. There let the way appear,Steps unto heav’n;All that thou sendest me,In mercy giv’n;Angels to beckon meNearer, my God, to thee,Nearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee!
4. Then with my waking thoughtsBright with thy praise,Out of my stony griefsBethel I’ll raise;So by my woes to beNearer, my God, to thee,Nearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee!
5. Or if, on joyful wingCleaving the sky,Sun, moon, and stars forgot,Upward I fly,Still all my song shall beNearer, my God, to thee,Nearer, my God, to thee,Nearer to thee!
Text: Sarah F. Adams, 1805–1848
Music: Lowell Mason, 1792–1872