| O'er the Gloomy Hills of Darkness | |
|---|---|
 O'er the Gloomy Hills of Darkness in the Church of England in Canada's 1877 Church Hymnal | |
| 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.
- ^ Kirk, John (2013). Cultures of Radicalism in Britain and Ireland. Routledge. p. 100. ISBN 978-1848933446.
- ^ Lewis, Saunders (1991). Williams Pantycelyn. Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru. p. 128. ISBN 0708311229.
- ^ "O'er the gloomy hills of darkness". Hymnary.org. Retrieved 2016-06-14.