Now the Day Is Over

This offering is ninth in my series of preludes.  If ever there was a “going to sleep” hymn, this is it.  It is the prayer of a tired soul uttered in the quiet calm of the evening when the world slows down and work is done.  I tried to keep the lowest tones slipping down the keyboard like the weight of heavy eyelids struggling to stay open.  Here are a few of the verses found in the Lutheran hymnal. 

“Now the day is over;

Night is drawing nigh,

Shadows of the evening

Steal across the sky.

Now the darkness gathers,

Stars begin to peep,

Birds and beasts and flowers

Soon will be asleep.

Jesus, give the weary

Calm and sweet repose

With thy tenderest blessing

May our eyelids close.

Through the long night-watches

May Thine angels spread

Their white wings above me,

Watching round my bed.”

-Sabine Baring-Gould

Prelude No. 9: Now the Day Is Over

Click HERE to download free sheet music