Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Friday, July 31, 2020

"Fight the Good Fight"

Last September, I noticed a small connection between "Fight the Good Fight" and the tune "Mendon."

Here's the last musical phrase:


The first and fourth verses both end with a melisma'd "eternally" (A G A F# G) - "Lay hold on life, and it shall be / Your joy and crown eternally" and "Only believe, and you will see / That Christ is all eternally."  Because these "eternally"s are drawn out and because they span three measures, there's a sense of duration.