I vow to thee my country

  • arrangement of the tune "Thaxted" from Holst's "The Planets" for unaccompanied choir

  • Duration 2'

Words

by Cecil Spring-Rice

orginal arrangement for 9 voices: SSAATTBarBarB
also available for 8 voices: SSAATTBB

Availability

sheet music (PDF with permission to print or download) available from via this website: GBP 2.00

Text

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 question, 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.

Cecil Spring-Rice (1859-1918)