This page is provided so that you can hear the tunes of items which we use in church. Mostly they are written by the vicar. Please note that they are copyright - we are very happy to give permission to you to use them, but we would like to hear about it. Please include any use on your Christian Copyright Licence returns.
Down this page:
- the words,
- the story,
- the sheet music,
- media player.
Turn again
Turn again
Turn again, O Lord of hosts,
show us your face, and we will live,
show us your grace: we shall be saved.
O Lord God Almighty, our shepherd, our rock,
the Saviour of Israel, who cares for your flock,
enthroned in the heavens, before the twelve tribes
between the cherubim, and blinding our eyes.
Awaken your mightiness, come with your power:
O Lord we entreat you to save us this hour.
Turn again, O Lord of hosts,
show us your face, and we will live,
show us your grace: we shall be saved.
How long will your anger rebuff all our prayers?
The tears of your people well up from their cares.
We're made an example of impotent sighs;
our enemies mock us, our neighbours despise.
Turn again, O Lord of hosts,
show us your face, and we will live,
show us your grace: we shall be saved.
A vine out of Egypt you brought to your land,
and planted and watered, and helped it to stand.
You cleared out its vineyard so it could take root;
you walled it around to protect its young shoot.
It covered the mountains and cedars with shade:
from Sea to Euphrates, the vine that you made.
Turn again, O Lord of hosts,
show us your face, and we will live,
show us your grace: we shall be saved.
Its walls now are broken, and thieves pick its fruit:
the beasts of the forests all trample and loot.
The vine is cut down and is burned in a fire.
Return, Lord, and help us, raise up your Messiah.
Establish the Man who delivers from shame:
revive us again, we would call on your name.
Turn again, O Lord of hosts,
show us your face, and we will live,
show us your grace: we shall be saved.
Words and tune copyright © John Hartley 2008.
Based on Psalm 80
Story behind the song
Psalm 80, a "national lament with a refrain" (according to Peake's commentary), is set in the Church of England's lectionary as a response to the reading of Isaiah 5:1-7 on the first Sunday in October (Year A, Proper 22) - obviously because of the vine imagery in verses 8-18. The refrain in verses 3, 7 and 19 suggest to me that there was a standard chorus, but the overall structure of the psalm doesn't really correspond to that of a modern hymn or song. So this song is an attempt to set the psalm out to music in the following structure, which takes the liberty of repeating the chorus in two other places:
- Chorus
- Verse 1: v1,2 & 4a.
- Chorus: v3.
- Verse 2: v4b-6.
- Chorus: v7.
- Verse 3: v8-11.
- Chorus
- Verse 4: v12-13,16-18.
- Chorus: v19.
John Hartley.
Windows Media Player. When you click the left-hand "play" button your computer should have started to play the tune. If it didn't, you might be able to get the tune by clicking here, or by right-clicking the link, choosing "save target as", saving it onto your computer, and then opening it with a music-playing program.
Please remember that a midi file of a tune isn't supposed to be a state-of-the-art musical arrangement - it is only supposed to give a basic idea of how the tune goes. Any reasonable organist / keyboard player / music group could make it sound far better.