“Holy Spirit, Faithful Guide” pairs a text by Marcus Morris Wells (1815-1895) with the Scottish/Irish folk melody “WILD MOUNTAIN THYME.”
Little is known of Wells, who was converted to Christianity as a youth at a mission in Buffalo, New York and spent most of his life near Hartwick, New York as a farmer and maker of farm implements. “Holy Spirit, Faithful Guide” appears to be his single, memorable hymn; according to the website hymnary.org, it has appeared in 675 hymnals since its publication in 1858.
The tune used as the basis of this arrangement is known variously as “Wild Mountain Thyme,” “Purple Heather,” and “Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?” and is a variant of the song “The Braes of Balquhither” by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774–1810) and Scottish composer Robert Archibald Smith (1780–1829), adapted by Belfast musician Francis McPeake (1885–1971) into “Wild Mountain Thyme.” This simple folk melody is ideally suited to the simple, personal sentiment of Wells’ text.
SAB/piano score (4 pages, 8.5×11″)
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