O'er the Gloomy Hills of Darkness | |
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Genre | Hymn |
Written | 1772 |
Text | William Williams Pantycelyn |
Based on | Isaiah 9:2 |
Meter | 8.7.8.7.4.7 |
Melody | "Regent Square" by Henry Smart, "Zion" by Thomas Hastings |
"O'er the Gloomy Hills of Darkness", also titled "O'er Those Gloomy Hills of Darkness",[1] is a Welsh Christian hymn by William Williams Pantycelyn written in 1772.[2] The hymn was written as a missionary hymn; there are conflicting accounts of why the hymn was written. The hymn was later published in 374 hymnals worldwide,[3] though it was censored and altered in the United States by slaveholders for evangelising to slaves. The hymn later fell out of favour with hymn book editors in the 1960s.