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.
Shepherd God
Shepherd God
Shepherd God, I shall not want:
resting me in lush green meadows,
leading me beside still waters,
restoring my soul.
Shepherd God, I shall not want:
guiding me in paths of right living,
helping me be good and forgiving,
and making me whole.
And when I walk through the valley of shadows,
and when the darkness of death overwhelms,
I've no need to fear,
because you are near,
Shepherd God.
Shepherd God, you take good care:
marking with your rod my pathway,
keeping with your staff my safety,
removing my dread.
Shepherd God, you're always there:
spreading me a meal in your presence,
bathing me with oil of your radiance,
anointing my head.
And love and mercy will follow me always,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord,
My life full of praise,
for all of my days,
Shepherd God.
Words and tune copyright © John Hartley 2008.
Based on Psalm 23.
Story behind the song
Although the standard Scottish Psalter version of Psalm 23 ("The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want") continues to be popular among the older members of the UK population, it actually doesn't reflect the structure of the psalm very well; and in recent years a number of other versions have been written to try to break out of the mould of the standard 4-line Common Meter hymn. And this is my contribution to the programme. I've tried to respect the way the sense of the psalm flows in pairs and triplets of lines which mirror each other, and to avoid burdening the lines with a four-square western rhythm too much. I'd be interested in comments about to what extent I've succeeded.
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.