To Be A Pilgrim

Album: The Pilgrim's Progress (1906)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Also known by its first line "He Who Would Valiant Be," this hymn is an adaptation by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958).

    The Pilgrim's Progress was published in 1678 by John Bunyan (1628-88); the poem "To Be A Pilgrim" is extracted from that work. Vaughan Williams collected a melody from a Mrs. Verral of the Sussex hamlet Monk's Gate, and also from a Mrs. Weobley of Herefordshire five years later. The instrumental is sometimes known as "Monk's Gate"; the words used in standard hymn books are also slightly different from the original by John Bunyan.
  • "He Who Would Valiant Be" was chosen by Margaret Thatcher to be sung at her funeral, which took place in April 2013. If nothing else, this was an improvement on "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead," which after a sustained campaign by anti-Thatcherites reached #2 in the UK chart at that time. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

Maria Muldaur

Maria MuldaurSongwriter Interviews

The "Midnight At The Oasis" singer is an Old Time gal. She talks about her jug band beginnings and shares a Dylan story.

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" Album

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" AlbumSong Writing

In the summer of 1990, you could get arrested for selling a 2 Live Crew album or performing their songs in Southern Florida. And that's exactly what happened.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?