Sing unto God, sing praises to His name.
Psalm 68:4
Words: Unknown author, 11th Century (Alleluia, dulce carmen). Translated from Latin to English by John M. Neale, 1851, alt.
Music: Tantum Ergo Samuel Webbe, Motetts or Antiphons 1792 (🔊 pdf nwc).
Alternate Tune:
If you know where to get a good picture of Webbe (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
Alleluia, song of gladness,
Voice of joy that cannot die;
Alleluia is the anthem
Ever dear to choirs on high;
In the house of God abiding
Thus they sing eternally.
Alleluia thou resoundest,
True Jerusalem and free;
Alleluia, joyful mother,
All thy children sing with thee;
But by Babylon’s sad waters
Mourning exiles now are we.
Alleluia we deserve not
Here to chant forevermore;
Alleluia our transgressions
Make us for a while give o’er;
For the holy time is coming
Bidding us our sins deplore.
Therefore in our hymns we pray Thee,
Grant us, blessèd Trinity,
At the last to keep Thine Easter
In our home beyond the sky;
There to Thee forever singing
Alleluia joyfully.