I Vow to Thee My Country - Hymn Tune Thaxted by Gustav Holst (for piano)

"I Vow to Thee, my Country" is a hymn tune by Gustav Holst (1874-1934) based on the central theme from "Jupiter" in his Planets Suite. In hymn books the music is called Thaxted, the town where Holst lived. The lyrics come from a poem by Cecil Spring-Rice (1859–1918) to honour those soldiers who had died during World War I. Because of the sentiments expressed in the poem, it is also used as a Patriotic Song. The hymn was a favourite with Princess Diana and was sung at her wedding and later at her funeral. The music has frequently been used for sporting events as an instrumental or as a song with alternative lyrics, for example the Rugby World Cup anthem "World in Union" first sung in 1991 by Kiri te Kanawa and then recorded 20 years later by Hayley Westernra.

This piano arrangement of the hymn tune can be downloaded as sheet music in printable PDF format, or downloaded for listening in MIDI and MP3 formats. Visit these other pages for more Hymn Tunes, Patriotic Songs, Wedding Music and Funeral Music.