Does anyone else remember this version of the hymn 'Forty Days and Forty Nights?'

[RustyBear]

Following on from the 'I didn't realise Lent doesn't include Sundays' thread, I've been trying to find a recording of the version we used to sing at school, but can only find the traditional (Heinlein) version.
The one we sang was introduced by a student teacher as more 'modern', though I think it was at primary school, which was 1961-67, so not that modern any more.
This is a very bad rendering of the first bit, done by me on Garage Band, so my apologies for the quality.

Yes me. I'm early 50s.

Forty days and forty nights
Thou wast fasting in the wild
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted and yet undefiled

Or something. That tune.

Glad I'm not the only one - I can't find any recordings or even any mention of a different tune anywhere.
I'd love to know if anyone knows who composed that version. Or how it continues - I can hum the next bit, but I can't quite get it on the keyboard, it goes a bit different, not sure if it's changing key or what, I was never very musical.

hymnary.org/text/forty_days_and_forty_nights_thou_wast

That's the traditional version, the Heinlein one.
I was quite pleased that I remembered most of the words and could at least hum the music, as I haven't sung it for about half a century!

There was a link lower down 'All tunes published with forty days and forty nights' (next to a pie chart. ) hymnary.org/search?qu=textAuthNumber%3A%22%5Eforty_days_and_forty_nights_thou_wast%24%22%20in%3Atunes&sort=matchingInstances Any help?

Sorry, I missed that! The Messiah version sounds similar, though I don't think it's in the same key.

I missed it first time, and only saw it when I understood that 'the next bit' meant next bit of tune not next bit of words!

@RustyBear I think the time you are probably looking for is Glad With Thee but I can’t find anywhere yet on the web that has 40 day and 40 nights sung to it, but if you search for Glad With Thee there is an organist playing just the tune. We definately sang it to that tune and Heinlein at church in the early 80’s. They used to have to announce which one (moderern/original) but in my child brain they were always labelled as bouncy and dirge ( latter due to a comment my Mum muttered to do with speed the organist played Heinlein 🤣)

@TattyHeadCatWoman - Yes, that's it - thank you so much. I hadn't expected any more replies after 2.5 years, but that info not only led me to the organ video of Glad With Thee, but from the comments I also got the tunes of three other of my favourite hymns from primary school - At the Name of Jesus (Camberwell), O Jesus I have Promised (Hatherop Castle) and Who Are These Like Stars Appearing (All Saints Old), as well as the name of the hymn book they were in, The Twentieth Century Hymnbook, which is actually still available on Amazon!

Yes, me too but at primary school in the '80s. We had a hymn book called Youth Praise and I think it was one of the hits from it!

Ooh I've just looked up that organ version, I feel like I've gone back in time 30+ years ❤️

We sang that at school too. I particularly remember the second verse:

Sunbeams scorching all the day;
Chilly dew-drops nightly shed;
Prowling beasts about Thy way;
Stones Thy pillow; earth Thy bed.

The pianist would play light high notes as accompaniment for the sunbeams bit and heavy base notes for the prowling beasts.

@TattyHeadCatWoman only came across your comment because I was trying to answer the same question last night 🤣

yes, I do...I'm 58 and this is the tune we sang it to. This will be my brain worm for the next few days!

@TeenTimesTwo

Yes me. I'm early 50s.

Forty days and forty nights
Thou wast fasting in the wild
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted and yet undefiled

Or something. That tune.

That’s it - except I remember the last line as “”tempted still, but unbeguiled”

I sang in a fairly formal choir in late teens and would very often do it as a processional as the hymn to enter. The choir came in first, with a gap, followed by perhaps 4 clergy. This was usually the point when we had reached the lines: "Prowling beasts about thy way." Another one where showing amusement was Absolutely Out of the Question...