Lord, Guard and Guide the Men Who Fly

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Lord, guard and guide the men who fly

Author: Mary C. D. Hamilton (1915)
Published in 16 hymnals

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Audio files: MIDI

Piano/Organ
	The Lord's Supper (Communion Meditations…

Representative Text

1 Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through the great spaces of the sky;
Be with them traversing the air
In dark'ning storms or sunshine fair.

2 Thou who dost keep with tender might
The balanced birds in all their flight,
Thou of the tempered winds, be near,
That, having thee, they know no fear.

3 Control their minds with instinct fit
What time, adventuring, they quit
The firm security of land;
Grant steadfast eye and skilful hand.

4 Aloft in solitudes of space,
Uphold them with Thy saving grace.
O God, protect the men who fly
Through lonely ways beneath the sky.

Amen.

Source: The Hymnal for Boys and Girls #88

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Author: Mary C. D. Hamilton

Lyrics of “Lord, Guard and Guide,” also known as the“United States Air Force Hymn.” The text is derived from a prayer by poet Mary C.D. Hamilton. She also used the same text in “A Hymn for Aviators,” a musical setting by English composer C.H.H. Parry. Hamilton wrote her prayer in 1915 during World War I with the transcript first appearing in the “American Student Hymnal” of 1928 set to Mozart’s “Dona Nobis Pacem.” Years later during World War II, the initial verseof the prayer was adapted for use in “The Navy Hymn” as a tribute to naval aviators. --www.usafband.af.mil/ Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Title:	Lord, Guard and Guide the Men Who Fly
Author:	Mary C. D. Hamilton (1915)
Meter:	8.8.8.8
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Tune

QUEBEC (Baker)

Henry Baker (b. Nuneham, Oxfordshire, England, 1835; d. Wimbledon, England, 1910; not to be confused with Henry W. Baker) was educated as a civil engineer at Winchester and Cooper's Hill and was active in railroad building in India. In 1867 he completed a music degree at Exeter College, Oxford, Engl…

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FEDERAL STREET

Henry Kemble Oliver (b. Beverly, MA, 1800; d. Salem, MA, 1885) composed FEDERAL STREET in 1832, possibly as an imitation of earlier psalm tunes in long meter. He took it to a music class taught by Lowell Mason (who may have contributed to the harmony); Mason (PHH 96) published it in his Boston Acade…

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LEIPSIC (Mendelssohn 15346)

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