Robert Lowry wrote the tune HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING (also called ENDLESS SONG from the opening line of the first stanza) to accompany these words, and it appeared with the text in Bright Jewels in 1869. It was originally written in triple meter (3/2), but some modern hymnals have changed the tune to a slightly irregular duple meter (4/4) with a little syncopation. The tune is pentatonic with a consistent rhythmic pattern (in its original form), and works well when sung unaccompanied.