U.S. Navy Hymn

The hymn is built from a slow, solemn tune that rises and falls in plain steps, repeated for each verse. In an orchestral arrangement the melody often starts quietly in the strings or woodwinds, and later returns bigger and louder, with brass added.

The tune is easy to follow because it is a hymn: short, steady phrases, each ending with a gentle pause, like a breath. Listen for the way the arrangement grows in volume and richness, then settles down for a calm ending.

The arrangement here is by Cook, and runs about four minutes.

The words were written by William Whiting in 1860 as a prayer for people in danger at sea. John Bacchus Dykes, an English clergyman and composer, wrote the tune, called Melita, around 1861. Melita is an old name for Malta, the island where the Apostle Paul is said to have been shipwrecked. The hymn became closely linked with navies, and in the United States it is known as the Navy Hymn. It is often sung at naval services and memorials.