"I Vow to Thee, My Country" (Holst) at Westminster Abbey & York Minster

0:01 Westminster Abbey organ
1:19 York Minster organ

Performed by Charles Burks in July, 1998 during a family vacation to England.

"I Vow to Thee, My Country" was set to music by Gustav Holst, who adapted the music of "Jupiter" from his Planets Suite to fit the poetry in 1925. He named his tune "Thaxted", and it was later set to the hymn "O God Beyond All Praising".

The text to "I Vow to Thee, My Country" is from a poem by British diplomat Sir Cecil Spring Rice, written in 1912. The poem described how a Christian owes his loyalties to both his homeland and the heavenly kingdom.

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no questions, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace