EARLY ADVENT
SDAH 444
I’m a pilgrim, and I’m a stranger;
I can tarry, I can tarry but a night;
Do not detain me, for I am going
To where the fountains are ever flowing.
Text
1
I’m a pilgrim, and I’m a stranger;
I can tarry, I can tarry but a night;
Do not detain me, for I am going
To where the fountains are ever flowing.
Refrain
I’m a pilgrim, and I’m a stranger;
I can tarry, I can tarry but a night.
2
There the glory is ever shining!
O, my longing heart, my longing heart is there;
Here in this country so dark and dreary,
I long have wandered forlorn and weary.
3
There’s the city to which I journey;
My Redeemer, my Redeemer is its light!
There is no sorrow, nor any sighing,
Nor any tears there, or any dying.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(a) Heb 11:13; Rev 22:1 (b) Rev 21:26 (c) Rev 21:23, 4 (d) Rev 20:15 (f) Rev 22:3
Author
Mary S.B. Dana (1810-1883)
Year Published
1841
Metrical Number
9.11.10.10.Ref.
Arranged
from an Italian air
Get the hymn sheet in other keys here
I’m a Pilgrim and I’m a Stranger
“I’m a Pilgrim and I’m a Stranger” was a written by a woman who’s life was beset with tragedies; she lost sister, brother, son, and husband in the span of a few years. Instead of getting depressed and hopeless, she turned her attention to prayer and writing and with her words inspired many others.
She wrote many hymns, poems, articles and stories. She sold volumes of them, and one of those hymns is the song we’re learning in this post. This particular hymn encouraged many faithful believers, particularly the alienated Millerites who were feeling isolated from their family, friends, church mates and work mates because of their peculiar faith.
It is truly a blessing when someone else’s tragedy becomes someone else’s encouragement.
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Some arrangements and recordings are specially made by Hymns for Worship. For items made by someone else, I get commissions for purchases made through links on this page.
ALMOST HOME: HYMNS ON THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS (PDF)
11 elegant piano arrangements inspired by the hymns sung in the early days of the Seventh-Day Adventist movement.
I am a pilgrim bundle (PDF + MP3)
A 3-page meditative hymn arrangement that slowly builds into a rich climax. You will get both the downloadable PDF copy and recording (.wav file) of the score.
I AM A PILGRIM (PDF)
A 3-page meditative hymn arrangement that slowly builds into a rich climax. You will get only the downloadable PDF copy of the score.
ALMOST HOME: HYMNS ON THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS (DIGITAL)
11 elegant piano arrangements inspired by the hymns sung in the early days of the Seventh-Day Adventist movement. Files are in .wav format.
PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT FOR SDA HYMNAL NOS. 401-450
Perfect for use at church during congregational singing. All accompaniments are digital and in .wav format. Played according to the number of stanzas of the hymns.
Hymn PDF in F, G, Eb, D and C Major
PDF copies of the hymn in different keys to suit different ranges of voice.
Notes
Get to know the hymns a little deeper with the SDA Hymnal Companion. Use our song leader’s notes to engage your congregation in singing with understanding. Even better, involve kids in learning this hymn with our homeschooling materials.
Mary Stanley Bruce Palmer was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, on February 15, 1810, the daughter of a Congregational minister. She married Charles E. Dana in 1835 but was widowed in 1839. She then returned to South Carolina. She followed the preaching of William Miller on the imminent return of Jesus and joined the Presbyterian, then the Unitarian, and then the Protestant Episcopal Church in her search for Bible truth. She wrote two books, the Northern Harp in 1841, in which this hymn appears, and the Southern Harp in 1840. Note that the rhyme in the stanzas is only between lines three and four. In the original there are three other stanzas.
Mary Dana later married Professor Robert D. Schindler of Shelby College, Kentucky, in 1851, and moved to Texas. She died in 1883.
The tune is an old Italian air, “Buono Notte” (Good Night).
This world is not our home, and if we have cast our lot with Jesus, it will be in His home that we will seek our rest. Then let us not mind the suffering we go through but instead seek to help others who have no one to help them as if we were helping Jesus Himself (Lesson 7, 1st Quarter 2023, Managing for the Master – Sunday, “The Life and Ministry of Jesus” 2/22/23)
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