Description: | The hymn tune "Horsley" is written by its namesake, William Horsley, and paired with the famous "There is a green hill" text by Cecil F. Alexander. The "Green Hill" text has been presented with several other tunes, chiefly the "Meditation" tune by John Gower which is common in the United States amongst various Protestant/Non-Denomonational hymnals.
Though an American, I am an Anglophile by heart, and prefer Horsely which has slightly more melodic direction and flow compared to the folk-like simplicity of "Meditation". (My humble opinion, of course!)
The introduction and second verse reharmonization are mine.
Cecil Alexander's text:
1. There is a green hill far away, outside a city wall, where our dear Lord was crucified who died to save us all.
2. We may not know, we cannot tell, what pains he had to bear, but we believe it was for us he hung and suffered there.
3. He died that we might be forgiven, he died to make us good, that we might go at last to heaven, saved by his precious blood.
4. There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin, he only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.
5. O dearly, dearly has he loved! And we must love him too, and trust in his redeeming blood, and try his works to do. |