O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
Text by Charles Wesley (1739). Music arranged by Lowell Mason (1839) from a melody by Carl Glaser. Public domain in all jurisdictions.
Verse 1
GO for a thou-sand Ctongues to Gsing my great Re-Ddeem-er's Gpraise
The Gglo-ries of my CGod and GKing, the Dtri-umphs of His Ggrace
Verse 2
GMy gra-cious Mas-ter Cand my GGod, as-sist me to pro-Dclaim
To Gspread through all the Cearth a-Gbroad the Dhon-ors of Thy Gname
Verse 3
GJe-sus! the name that Ccharms our Gfears, that bids our sor-rows Dcease
'Tis Gmu-sic in the Csin-ner's Gears, 'tis Dlife and health and Gpeace
Verse 4
GHe breaks the pow'r of Ccan-celed Gsin, He sets the pris-'ner Dfree
His Gblood can make the Cfoul-est Gclean, His Dblood a-vailed for Gme
Verse 5
GHear Him, ye deaf; His Cpraise, ye Gdumb, your loos-ened tongues em-Dploy
Ye Gblind, be-hold your CSav-ior Gcome; and Dleap, ye lame, for Gjoy
Structure
Playing Tips
🎸 Strum Pattern — Verse
O For a Thousand Tongues is a declarative hymn at 80 BPM. We strum four confident downstrokes per measure and keep the rhythm steady and forward-moving. The G to C to D movement is comfortable for most guitarists. Let the chord ring through each beat rather than chopping between them.
🔊 Dynamics
This is Charles Wesley's personal testimony of what it means to know Jesus, and it calls for conviction in the delivery. We open with moderate energy and build through the five verses. By verse 5, which celebrates physical healing and restoration, we play fully and joyfully.
🎵 Band Direction
Piano and acoustic guitar both lead this hymn well. Keys should use full chord voicings rather than a sparse pad. Bass follows the root with a quarter-note pattern. We keep percussion light on the early verses, then add snare and kick from verse 3 onward when the energy builds.
🎤 Vocal
Key of G is ideal for most congregational voices. The melody sits in a comfortable range and does not push into difficult high territory. With five verses, encourage the congregation to know the melody before they try to add harmonies. The text itself does the heavy lifting here.
→ Transitions
Five verses can feel long if you do not keep the transitions quick. We move verse to verse without gaps, using a one-bar turnaround at most. On verse 5, the text is an invitation to the deaf, blind, and lame to respond. We slow the tempo slightly on this verse to let every word land.