The "Navy Hymn" is Eternal Father, Strong to Save. The original words were written as a poem in 1860 by William Whiting of Winchester, England, for a student who was about to sail for the United States. The melody, published in 1861, was composed by fellow Englishman, Rev. John Bacchus Dykes, an Episcopalian clergyman.
The hymn, found in most hymnals, is known as the "Navy hymn" because it is sung at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It is also sung on ships of the Royal Navy (U.K.) and has been translated into French.
Eternal Father was the favorite hymn of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and was sung at his funeral in Hyde Park, New York, in April 1945. It was also played by the Navy Band in 1963 as President John F. Kennedy's body was carried up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to lie in state. Roosevelt had served as Secretary of the Navy and Kennedy was a PT boat commander in World War II.
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound resless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep,
It's own appointed limits keep;
Oh hear us when we cry tho Thee,
O Christ!
Oh hear us when we cry Thee,
Most Holy Spirit!
Oh hear us when we cry Thee,
O Trinity of love and power!
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!
Whose voice the water heard,
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walked'st on the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
For those in peril on the sea!
Who didst brood,
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
For those in peril on the sea!
Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.
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