Jeremiah Rankin

It’s hard to say goodbye. You may recall the immortal words Juliet spoke to Romeo, “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” Or consider the endearing line from Winnie the Pooh, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” Pastor Jeremiah Rankin (1828-1904) was looking for a farewell song the choir could sing to conclude worship at his DC church. Not finding anything suitable, he decided to compose his own musical benediction. The original idea for the song came from reading the dictionary. Rankin learned that goodbye is short for “God be with you” or “God be with ye,” as people spoke it in the 14th century. Goodbye became the impetus for the words that dominated the hymn, “God be with you till we meet again.” Rankin introduced the hymn in a songbook with the words, “It was written as a Christian goodbye and first sung in the First Congregational Church of which I was a minister for 15 years. We had gospel meetings on Sunday nights, and all the music was intentionally of the popular kind. I wrote the first stanza and sent it to two gentlemen for music.” One of those gentlemen, William Tomer, a New Jersey public school teacher, supplied the tune, and Rankin added seven more verses. The song quickly caught on and remains a popular farewell song. The four-stanza version we sing today accentuates the prayerful refrain, “God be with you till we meet again.” Each stanza highlights ways to pray for God to be with people. May God guide and uphold you (verse 1). May God feed and protect you (verse 2). May God put his unfailing arms around you (verse 3). May God smite death before you (verse 4). Pray God’s favor on people who come to mind today as you read or sing these words: