Ireland was born in Bowdon, near Altrincham, Manchester, into a family of Scottish descent and some cultural distinction. His parents died soon after he had entered the Royal College of Music at the age of 14. He studied piano and organ there, and later composition under Charles Villiers Stanford. He subsequently became a teacher at the College himself, his pupils including Ernest John Moeran (who admired him) and Benjamin Britten (who found Ireland’s teaching of less interest). He was sub organist at Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street, London SW1, and later became organist and choirmaster at St. Luke’s Church, Chelsea, London. Ireland frequently visited the Channel Islands and was inspired by their landscape; he was evacuated from them just before the German invasion during World War II. Ireland retired in 1953, settling at the small hamlet of Rock in Sussex for the rest of his life. He is buried in nearby Shipley churchyard.
[1] Ireland regretted immediately his marriage, which he never consummated. His assistant and companion, Norah Kirkby, destroyed portions of Ireland's papers and correspondence upon his death, donating the remainder to the British Library. But see Fiona Richards, "An Anthology of Friendship: The Letters of John Ireland to Father Kenneth Thompson", in Queer Episodes in Music and Modern Identity (2002): "Despite his brief and ultimately unsuccessful relationships with women, there is no doubt that Ireland was considerably more interested in men, specifically much younger men. There is, however, no direct evidence that Ireland ever had a close sexual relationship with a man or a boy, and he did not particularly mix in homosexual circles. He was a very private figure, and because of this and the problems involved in extracting relevant information, there has never been any truly open discussion of Ireland's personal life. In particular, there has been little written about his religious convictions or his sexuality." The article covers the subject in some depth.
From Stanford, Ireland inherited a thorough knowledge of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms and other German classics, but as a young man he was also strongly influenced by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel as well as the earlier works by Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók. From these influences, he developed his own brand of "English Impressionism", related closer to French and Russian models than to the folk-song style then prevailing in English music.
Like most other Impressionist composers, Ireland favoured small forms and wrote neither symphonies nor operas, although his Piano Concerto is among his best works. His output includes some chamber music and a substantial body of piano works, including his best-known piece The Holy Boy, known in numerous arrangements. His songs to poems by A. E. Housman, Thomas Hardy, Christina Rossetti, John Masefield and Rupert Brooke are a valuable addition to English vocal repertoire. Due to his job at St. Luke’s Church, he also wrote hymns, carols and other sacred choral music; among choirs he is probably best known for the anthem Greater Love, often sung in services that commemorate the victims of war. His Communion Service in C is also performed. Some of his pieces, such as the popular A Downland Suite, were completed or re-transcribed after his death by his student Geoffrey Bush.
2.
John Ireland was born John Griffith on the 24th August 1954 in Ireland (some sources say Boksburg), South Africa. He attended Boksburg High School in the mid-70s. In 1977 he and Jonathan Handley formed the band Slither and were based in Springs. He studied medicine with Jonathan at Wits University and they both became doctors. Slither later became The Radio Rats. John has musical training in classical piano to an advanced level and also plays guitar and drums.
My song is love unknown
John Ireland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My Savior's love to me;
Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be.
O who am I,
That for my sake
My Lord should take
Frail flesh, and die?
He came from His blest throne
Salvation to bestow;
But men made strange, and none
The longed-for Christ would know:
But oh, my Friend,
My Friend indeed,
Who at my need
His life did spend.
Sometimes they strew His way,
And His sweet praises sing;
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King:
Then "Crucify!"
Is all their breath,
And for His death
They thirst and cry.
They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away;
A murderer they save,
The Prince of life they slay.
Yet cheerful He
To suffering goes,
That He His foes
From thence might free.
Here might I stay and sing,
No story so divine;
Never was love, dear King,
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my Friend,
In whose sweet praise
I all my days
Could gladly spend
The lyrics of John Ireland's "My song is love unknown" are centered on the theme of love and sacrifice. The singer is amazed that Jesus Christ would come down to earth and endure the pain and suffering of crucifixion to save the loveless. The singer is overwhelmed with gratitude and cannot understand why someone as divine as Christ would go through so much pain for their sake.
The narration talks about the love of Christ being shown to the loveless so that they too may be loved. It is indicated that Christ came down to earth to bestow salvation to people, but humanity rejected him, and the longed-for savior was not acknowledged. Despite this, Christ remained a faithful friend, showing love to those who needed him.
The lyrics further show how Christ's love was not eventually acknowledged by the people. The people who once praised his name began to thirst and cry for his death. However, Christ remained joyful, even in suffering, so that his enemies could find redemption.
The lyrics express gratitude to Christ, who has shown a love that is unmatched and a grief that is beyond words. The singer feels willing to spend all their life, praising their friend, who has shown such sacrificial love towards them.
Line by Line Meaning
My song is love unknown,
I sing a song of a love that is unknown to many
My Savior's love to me;
It is the love of my Savior to me
Love to the loveless shown,
It is love shown to the ones who have no love in their hearts
That they might lovely be.
The love is shown so that they can become lovely
O who am I,
Who am I to deserve this love?
That for my sake
That he would do all this for me
My Lord should take
My Lord would take on
Frail flesh, and die?
A frail human form and die for me?
He came from His blest throne
He came from his divine throne
Salvation to bestow;
To give salvation to the people
But men made strange, and none
But people looked at him with suspicion and did not
The longed-for Christ would know:
Recognize that he was the Christ they were looking for
But oh, my Friend,
But oh, my dear friend,
My Friend indeed,
A true friend indeed
Who at my need
Who was there for me when I needed him
His life did spend.
And gave his life for me
Sometimes they strew His way,
Sometimes they lay down palms and flowers on his path
And His sweet praises sing;
And sing his praises
Resounding all the day
All day long, echoing through the streets
Hosannas to their King:
Hosannas to their King
Then "Crucify!"
But then they shout "Crucify!"
Is all their breath,
Their only desire
And for His death
Is for him to die
They thirst and cry.
They crave his execution
They rise and needs will have
They insist he must be punished
My dear Lord made away;
They demand for my dear Lord to be taken away
A murderer they save,
They choose to free a murderer
The Prince of life they slay.
And they kill the Prince of Life.
Yet cheerful He
Yet he was still joyful
To suffering goes,
To go through suffering
That He His foes
So that he could defeat his enemies
From thence might free.
And free them from their bondage.
Here might I stay and sing,
Here I could stay and sing forever
No story so divine;
There is no story as divine
Never was love, dear King,
No love like yours, my dear King
Never was grief like Thine.
No grief like yours.
This is my Friend,
This is my friend
In whose sweet praise
In whose sweet praises
I all my days
I will spend all my days
Could gladly spend.
Could gladly spend.
Contributed by Taylor B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@spurge83
Here might I stay and sing,
No story so divine;
Never was love, dear King,
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my Friend,
In whose sweet praise
I all my days
Could gladly spend.
The poetry in that verse. Makes me smile every time.
@spurge83
Here might I stay and sing,
No story so divine;
Never was love, dear King,
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my Friend,
In whose sweet praise
I all my days
Could gladly spend.
The poetry in that verse. Makes me smile every time.
@sidpheasant7585
The tremendous ECONOMY of it. A 210-word essay that includes all the truth, facts, emotions and impressions we need.
Boy, could they ever use words in 1664!
@JohnSnow-fv6jy
💗
@robertheylmun2315
I cannot hear or sing this hymn without getting teary-eyed. So profoundly beautiful, a perfect match of words to music.
@englishrose47
I was quite unable to sing this at Bradford Cathedral’s Palm Sunday Service last Sunday
@fairlyvague82
@@englishrose47 I wanted to get there and couldn’t! Was it fantastic? I’d have sobbed all the way through!
@DRxEggman
Miserere does the same thing to me
@domtheodorephillips1327
"Love to the loveless shown..." what a profound summation of the Gospel of our Lord: rarely can I sing it without tears.
@adamwright9517
I have now discovered I cannot listen to it without tears as well!
@mizzyroro
Prior Theodore Phillips Same here brother.