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Master, the Tempest Is Raging - Arranged by Betsy Lee Bailey
Text: Mary An Baker, ca. 1874 Music: H. R. Palmer, 1834-1907
Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o'er-shadowed with blackness. No shelter or help is nigh.
Carest thou not that we perish? How canst thou lie asleep
When each moment so madly is threatening a grave in the angry deep?
Master, with anguish of spirit I bow in my grief today.
The depths of my sad heart are troubled. oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish sweep o'er my sinking soul.
And I perish, I perish, dear Master. Oh, hasten and take control.
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will: Peace, be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea, or demons or men or whatever it be.
No waters can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, be still; Peace, be still.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, peace, be still.
Master, the terror is over, the elements sweetly rest.
Earth's sun in the calm lake is mirrored, and heaven's within my breast.
Linger, O blessed Redeemer! Leave me alone no more.
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor and rest on the blissful shore.
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will: Peace, be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea, or demons or men or whatever it be.
No waters can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, be still; Peace, be still.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, peace, be still. Peace, peace, be still.
About the Song - One day, a friend suggested that this hymn would make wonderful Program Music. So, with that as a plan, each of the verses moves the plot along with different musical treatments. The opening verse is in a minor key to give the anguished words more power. The motive in the accompaniment is to be played like the crashing waves on a boisterous sea. The large chords in the interlude are to symbolize the retreat of the storm with the sun breaking through the clouds and sea becoming calm. Finally, the Master commands, "Peace, be still."
The sky is o'er-shadowed with blackness. No shelter or help is nigh.
Carest thou not that we perish? How canst thou lie asleep
When each moment so madly is threatening a grave in the angry deep?
Master, with anguish of spirit I bow in my grief today.
The depths of my sad heart are troubled. oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish sweep o'er my sinking soul.
And I perish, I perish, dear Master. Oh, hasten and take control.
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will: Peace, be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea, or demons or men or whatever it be.
No waters can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, be still; Peace, be still.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, peace, be still.
Master, the terror is over, the elements sweetly rest.
Earth's sun in the calm lake is mirrored, and heaven's within my breast.
Linger, O blessed Redeemer! Leave me alone no more.
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor and rest on the blissful shore.
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will: Peace, be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea, or demons or men or whatever it be.
No waters can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, be still; Peace, be still.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, peace, be still. Peace, peace, be still.
About the Song - One day, a friend suggested that this hymn would make wonderful Program Music. So, with that as a plan, each of the verses moves the plot along with different musical treatments. The opening verse is in a minor key to give the anguished words more power. The motive in the accompaniment is to be played like the crashing waves on a boisterous sea. The large chords in the interlude are to symbolize the retreat of the storm with the sun breaking through the clouds and sea becoming calm. Finally, the Master commands, "Peace, be still."