Hymns are shite.

I’m a stone-cold atheist. I was also a choir-boy for six years.

I love hymns – The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended will always knock me for six.

Rock of Ages. The local hymn, is great. Played at my wife’s funeral. I have a memorial geocache for her hidden not far from the rock itself.

4. While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.

The only hymn that still remains etched in my mind is “Onward Christian Soldiers” .
At junior school we had a GIANT flip chart hymn book that hung fron the ceiling in the assembly room.
Mrs Nixon used to literally hammer away at the piano…I hated hymn practice.

Curious, but is that hymn the “official” hymn of the Royal Navy?

The Merchant Marine has Abide With Me as their hymn. Many of their memorials have a line or two on them.

At junior school we had a GIANT flip chart hymn book that hung fron the ceiling in the assembly room

We had 4 of those at one school I went to and I found myself along with a friend in charge of changing them each morning.