O For A Thousand Tongues is a familiar hymn that dates back to 1739. Charles Wesley penned the words based around his reading of Revelation 5 that gives a picture of an army of angels circling around the throne singing praise to God.
I had long forgotten about this hymn until a friend requested I play it in his wedding a few months back. I had always been fond of the original melody, but after searching for an arrangement to use, I was a bit miffed at the severe lack of choices. I found versions that either sounded way too antiquated and stuffy or sped up rock versions that didn’t seem to couple well with the reflective text. So, I took it upon myself to conjure up something simple that was rooted in that classic melody line and had a bit more space and feel. The accompanying MP3 is what I came up with. Its pretty straightforward, but I feel like dressing it up any fancier would just be obnoxious and over the top.
Be aware - This recording is what we call “lo-fi”. Its not a polished Sojourn track ready for wide distribution. I spent about 30 minutes hammering it out on in my basement through Pro-Tools simply for giving scheduled musicians something to reference. But, even with its rushed imperfections, we thought we would share with you in hopes it could be useful. By the way, the recording and leadsheet don’t match with their key signatures. I recorded it in E, while the lead sheet has it scored in C. Enjoy!
You can also download this mp3 — and many great podcast episodes — for free from our iTunes podcast, Sojournmusic.com Radio.
O For A Thousand Tongue to Sing by Charles Wesley
C F C F Dm C F C
O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise,
F Bb F/A C F
The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace.
Jesus, the name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease;
It’s music in the sinner’s ears, it’s life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me.
My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad the honors of your name.
Glory to God and praise and love be ever, ever giv’n
By saints below and saints above, the Church in earth and heav’n
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I love this beautiful and haunting rendition of this great hymn. A+ Thank you.
Beautiful. Thank you for recording this!
Love it! Thanks, Jamie!
I love the song and the arrangement. Thanks for sharing the “rough” cut. : )
I love the lo-fi… I want more. Please!
Perhaps in there could be a whole album of Sojourn demos and b-sides.
Love the rough cuts as well, please keep em coming.