Lyrics:

1. There is a green hill far away,
Without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.

2. We may not know, we cannot tell,
What pains he had to bear,
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.

3. There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin.
He only could unlock the gate
Of heav’n and let us in.

4. Oh, dearly, dearly has he loved!
And we must love him too,
And trust in his redeeming blood,
And try his works to do.

Text: Cecil Frances Alexander, 1818-1895
Music: John H. Gower, 1855-1922

-History: (Source: Wikipedia)

Written By: Cecil Frances Alexander

Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander (Early April 1818, Dublin – 12 October 1895^[1]), was a hymn-writer and poet.

She was born in Dublin, the daughter of Major John Humphreys and Elizabeth (née Reed). She began writing verse in her childhood. Her religious work was strongly influenced by her contacts with the Oxford Movement and in particular with John Keble, who edited one of her anthologies. By the 1840s she was already known as a hymn writer and her compositions were soon included in Church of Irelandhymnbooks.

Her book, Hymns for Little Children reached its 69th edition before the close of the nineteenth century. Some of her hymns, e.g. “All Things Bright and Beautiful“, “There is a Green Hill Far Away” and the Christmas carol “Once in Royal David’s City“, are known by many millions of Christians the world over, as is her translation of “Saint Patrick’s Breastplate”.

In Strabane in October 1850 she married the Anglican clergyman William Alexander, afterwards Bishop of Derry and Archbishop of Armagh. Her husband also wrote several books of poetry, of which the best known is St. Augustine’s Holiday and other Poems.

She was also involved in charitable work. Money from her first publications had helped build the Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, which was founded in 1846 in Strabane. The profits from “Hymns for Little Children” were donated to this school.

Music By: John H. Gower

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