Is this Hymn Heretical?

The famous hymn "I Vow to Thee My Country" is often sung at Remembrance Day services in Commonwealth countries. The words were written by Cecil Spring-Rice in 1908, and the music is by Gustav Holst who adapted music from a section of Jupiter from his suite 'The Planets'. Holst harmonised the tune to make it usable as a hymn, and it was first published in 1921.

The first and second verses are usually taken to refer to the United Kingdom and the sacrifice of those who died during the First World War. The third verse is a reference to heaven, and the final line is based on Proverbs 3:17.

I have always loved the music, and admired the clever lyrics. I believe Remembrance Day services are very important and the sacrifices of fallen soldiers, especially ordinary decent men thrown into wars, deserve to be honoured.

However, I am no fan of the British Empire, and I despise their monarchy and their ruling class. I have always been uncomfortable with the 'religious love' for Britain in this hymn. Only recently I learned that this hymn had been described as "totally heretical" by the Anglican Bishop of Hulme because in his view the hymn placed national loyalties above religious ones and promoted an unquestioning support of governments. Perhaps it takes a heretic to know a heresy, but I think the Bishop of Hulme has hit the nail on the head. He has well described why I have always been a bit uncomfortable with this hymn.

The middle verse is often omitted because it is regarded as "inappropriate". There is another clue in this omission: the government wants unquestioning loyalty but not a clear reminder of the consequences, of "the dying and the dead" in wars in foreign countries.

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.

I heard my country calling, away across the sea,

Across the waste of waters she calls and calls to me.

Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,

And round her feet are lying the dying and the dead.

I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns,

I haste to thee my mother, a son among thy sons.

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.

There are a number of different versions of I Vow to Thee My Country on YouTube, including this typical British pomp and ceremony version, with Royalty, without the middle verse:

 

Comments

[Thygocanberra]

Python is correct about the Ode to Joy - completely humanist.
Don't know about Holst - there are a number of different sets of words.
Patriotism is not intrinsically bad.

[Paul]

Excellent comment. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring is Bach. However, I agree with you about the bastardisation of Beethoven's choral chorus (Ode to Joy) in his Symphony No. 9 as a "hymn" to the European Union. The EU is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It is completely anti-Christian, and with each passing year increasingly fascist.

[PythonMagus]

I concur with your concern; it is a hymn to nationalism and the various spiritual themes are allegories of patriotism. I can understand why it would be popular with the military. I suggest a "political correctness" adjustment, it would not take much, would make it work both ways.

On our side of the fence, I really do not like the way Julio Inglesias' "Song of Joy" sung to Beethoven's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire" has become a hymn, as it is a psalm to humanism. Although many of the sentiments are compatible, I have always found spirituality without God rather bizarre. (Conversely, and a million miles off topic, I admit that in the case of Buddhism, it does have a synergistic efficiency and consistency that is hard not to like.)