When Our Heads Are Bowed With Woe

Above:  The Hymn, Altered Slightly

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Hymn Sources = The Church Hymnary (1927) and Handbook to The Church Hymnary (1927)

Words (published in 1827) by Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868)

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1.  When our heads are bowed with woe,

When our bitter tears o’erflow,

When we mourn the lost, the dear,

Gracious Son of Mary, hear.

2.  Thou our throbbing flesh hast worn:

Thou our mortal griefs hast borne:

Thou hast shed the human tear:

Gracious Son of Mary, hear.

3.  When the sullen death-bell tolls

For our own departing souls,

When our final doom is near,

Gracious Son of Mary, hear.

4.  Thou hast bowed the dying head:

Thou the blood of life hast shed:

Thou hast filled a mortal bier:

Gracious Son of Mary, hear.

5.  When the heart is sad within

With the thought of all its sin,

When the spirit shrinks with fear,

Gracious Son of Mary, hear.

6.  Thou the shame, the grief, hast known,

Though the sins were not Thine own:

Thou hast deigned their load to bear:

Gracious Son of Mary, hear.