"To Be a Pilgrim", also known as "He Who Would Valiant Be", is an English Christian hymn using words of John Bunyan in The Pilgrim's Progress, first appearing in Part 2 of The Pilgrim's Progress, written in 1684. An alternative variation of the words was produced by Percy Dearmer in 1906. The hymn has been set to various melodies; notably Monk's Gate, St Dunstan's and Moab. The hymn treats life as a pilgrimage, in which the individual should patiently endure life’s many setbacks, and keep the faith by striving for a more godly life.

Melody

In 1906 the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams set the words to a melody taken from the traditional song "Our Captain Cried All Hands" which he collected in the hamlet of Monk's Gate in West Sussex – hence the name of "Monks Gate" by which the melody is referred to in hymn books. The hymn is also been sung to the melody "Moab" (John Roberts, 1870) and "St Dunstans" (Charles W. Douglas, 1917).

Textual variants

The original words were adapted for the English Hymnal in 1906.

Reception and Uses

For a time, Bunyan's original version was not commonly sung in churches, perhaps because of the references to "hobgoblin" and "foul fiend." However, one commentator has said: "Bunyan's burly song strikes a new and welcome note in our Hymnal. The quaint sincerity of the words stirs us out of our easygoing dull Christianity to the thrill of great adventure." Recent hymn books have tended to return to the original, for example, the Church of England's Common Praise and the Church of Scotland's Church Hymnary 4th Edition (Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise). The hymn's refrain "to be a pilgrim" has entered the language and has been used in the title of a number of books dealing with pilgrimage in a literal or spiritual sense.

School hymn

Films, TV and radio

Miscellaneous

"To be a Pilgrim" has been adopted by the British Special Air Service as their battle hymn.

Notable recordings

References and notes