Common Ground Song 24 ‘Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life’
Words: George Herbert (early 17th century) / Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams © Stainer & Bell Ltd
YouTube recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm28k3C-_cI
Featured image: George Herbert, Portrait by Robert White (National Portrait Gallery)
Sometimes, a relatively obscure and ancient text is brought to life when a later artist discovers it and gives it a new setting or context. So it was with this text by the Elizabethan poet George Herbert. It was set to music by the early 20th century composer Vaughan-Williams, known for collecting traditional folk songs. In this instance, Herbert’s words called for a new tune of their own., which he titled ‘The Call’.
The poem is indeed a call. A call by the disciple to his Lord to come to his aid. What is called on is not the powerful works of Christ, but his relational nature. Herbert was known for his unconventional but imaginative use of the English language, as with later writers such as Gerard Manley Hopkins and James Joyce. Each of the three verses names three attributes of Christ, which are then, with a subtle internal rhyming scheme, given purpose.
As the ‘Way, Truth and Life’ (Jesus’ own words) he is asked to give breath, end strife and conquer death. As ‘Light, Feast and Strength’ (presumably Herbert’s own words) he is asked to ‘show a feast (that) mends in length’ (an odd phrase, perhaps meaning the benefits of regular reception of the Eucharist?) and make (the singer) a guest at the feast. Lastly, Christ is invoked as ‘Joy, Love and Heart’, linked in the last line as different aspects of his character (‘such a heart as joys in love’). As with all the best poetry, it requires repetition and imagination to try and discover the deeper meaning.