When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
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The hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", was written by Isaac Watts, and published in Hymns and Spiritual Songs in 1707. It is significant for being an innovative departure from the early English hymn style of only using paraphrased biblical texts, although the first two lines of the second verse do paraphrase St Paul at Galatians 6:14. The poetry of "When I survey..." may be seen as English literary baroque.[1]
The hymn's fourth verse ("His dying crimson...") is commonly omitted in printed versions, a practice that began with George Whitefield in 1757.[2]
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Musical settings
- "Hamburg", Lowell Mason, 1824
- "Eucharist", Isaac B. Woodbury
- "Rockingham", arranged by Edward Miller, 1790
- "Morte Criste", Emrys Jones
- "O Waly, Waly", a folk tune
- "Senzeni Na?", a South African folk tune[3]
- "When I Survey/Thank You For the Cross", a modern rearrangement by Tim Hughes, based on "O Waly, Waly", on Soul Survivor (2007)
- "The Wonderful Cross", a contemporary arrangement by Chris Tomlin and JD Walt utilizing three original verses with a new chorus, on Tomlin's 2001 album The Noise We Make (featuring Matt Redman)
Other uses
- Sung to the tune 'Rockingham', it has been used for many years by the BBC to introduce its 7am broadcast on Good Friday.
- It forms the musical setting for the culmination of a passion play told in dance choreographed by Walter Nicks, an American modern dancer.
- Showbread, a Christian "Raw Rock" band, used excerpts of the lyrics in their song "The Beginning" from the album Nervosa.
