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

Friday, March 6, 2026

"A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth"

I found some small features to note in "A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth" but waited to write about them until the appropriate season.

The hymn is sung to the tune "An Wasserflüssen Babylon."  Here's the fourth musical phrase:


In the first verse, the text here is "None else the burden sharing."  "Burden" is sung with a descending melisma (C Bb A), musically representing a sort of bending beneath this weight.

In the fourth verse, the text is "My joy beyond all measure!"  Here, "all" is sung with a melisma (Bb A), lending a slight sense of entirety.  Additionally, the phrase "all measure" is sung to notes of all different pitches (Bb A G F), also giving a sense of breadth.

The line "O Love, how strong You are to save!" near the end of the third verse bears some resemblance to part of Psalm 31:2:  "Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!"