God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in mine heart, and in my thinking;
God be at [my end, and in]1 my departing.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Dyson: "mine end, and at"

Text Authorship:

• by Bible or other Sacred Texts , appears in Sarum Primer, first published 1558 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Frank W. Boles (b. 1950), "God be in my head" [ chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Gordon Crosse (b. 1937), "Prayer: God be in my head, and in my understanding", op. 17 no. 3 (1966), published 1967, first performed 1966 [ soprano, baritone, mixed chorus, and orchestra ], from Changes - A Nocturnal Cycle, no. 3, London : Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
• by Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), "God be in my head", 1930 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Milford Rutter, CBE (b. 1945), "God be in my head" [ chorus ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Elizabeth Walton Vercoe (b. 1941), "God be in my head, and in my understanding" [ mezzo-soprano or soprano and piano ], from stage composition Herstory III: Jehanne de Lorraine, no. 12, confirmed with composer's website [sung text checked 1 time]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by George Dyson (1883 - 1964), "Rise, O my soul", 1945-9, from Quo Vadis: a Cycle of Poems, no. 2
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Elinor Remick Warren.
  • Go to the text.
    

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2005-09-02
Line count: 5
Word count: 46