To Be a Pilgrim


"To Be a Pilgrim", also known as "He Who Would Valiant Be", or "He Who Would True Valour See" 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" and "St Dunstans".

Textual variants

The original words were adapted for the English Hymnal in 1906.
John Bunyan's Original Version1906 The English Hymnal Version
1. Who would true valour see,1. He who would valiant be
Let him come hither;′Gainst all disaster,
One here will constant be,Let him in constancy
Come wind, come weatherFollow the Master.
There's no discouragementThere's no discouragement
Shall make him once relentShall make him once relent
His first avowed intentHis first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.To be a pilgrim.
2. Whoso beset him round2. Who so beset him round
With dismal stories,With dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound;Do but themselves confound——
His strength the more is.His strength the more is.
No lion can him fright,No foes shall stay his might,
He'll with a giant fight,Though he with giants fight:
But he will have a rightHe will make good his right
To be a pilgrim.To be a pilgrim.
3. Hobgoblin, nor foul fiend3. Since, Lord, thou dost defend
Can daunt his spirit;Us with thy Spirit,
He knows he at the endWe know we at the end
Shall life inherit.Shall life inherit.
Then fancies fly away,Then fancies flee away!
He'll fear not what men say,I'll fear not what men say,
He'll labour night and dayI'll labour night and day
To be a pilgrim.To be a pilgrim.

Reception and usage

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.
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

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