O Mary, When Our God Chose You

This hymn was written by English teacher Daman Lundy was first published in Hymns Old and New - a Hymnbook for the Irish Church in 1977.

Today copyright is owned by Kevin Mayhew Ltd, and the hymn is still found in some editions of  Hymns Old and New.   It has been covered by artists like Marilla Ness.

The lyrics focus on Mary, but tell the story of Jesus conception, life, death and sending of the Holy Spirit in a very simple format.

Many people replace the word "brothers" in the last verse with "friends" or "people".

It is set to a traditional Swiss tune, of which the composer unknown.   With a 6/8 time signature, it was originally published in the key of C.   The first few notes in this key are E G E FED C E ED.

Downloads

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Lead sheet
(melody + guitar chords)

Examples

Solo singer with guitar backing:

Lyrics

The lyrics are copyright so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available on this website:   scroll down to near the bottom - there is a small typo in the 4th verse

The song has six verses, each four lines long, and a four-line chorus which is repeated after each verse.   In the early published versions, the last two lines of the verse are repeated in the chorus, but this approach has not always been followed in more recent recordings.

1 O Mary, when our God chose you ...

Refrain:
Alleluia, alleluia,
Alleluia, alleluia
A new creation made in you
Gave joy to all the earth.

2 When he was born on Christmas night ...

3 One winter's night, a heap of straw ...

4 In you, our God confounds the strong ...

5 In empty streets and broken hearts...

6 And Mary, while we stand with you ...

ABC Notation

X:1
T:O Mary When our God Chose You
C:Words: Damian Lundy
C:Tune: traditional Swiss
Z:abc-transcription www.GodSongs.net
M:6/8
L:1/4
K:C
E/2 | "C"G E/2 "G7"(F/2E/2)D/2 | "C"C E/2 (E/2D/2)/C/2 | "Dm"D F/2 "G7"(F/2E/2)D/2 | "C"E G/2 G c/2|
"F"A A/2 (A/2B/2)c/2 | "C"G G/2 G c/2| "G7"B G/2 (G/2A/2)B/2 | "C"c3/2-c z|]

About ABC notation

See more ...

• Hymns about Mary
• Folk-style hymns

KEEP IN CASE ORIGINAL IS REMOVED, BUT DO NOT DISPLAY
O Mary, when our God chose you,
To bring his dear Son to birth,
A new creation made in you
Gave joy to all the earth.

Refrain:
Alleluia, alleluia,Alleluia, alleluia
A new creation made in you Gave joy to all the earth.

When he was born on Christmas night
And music made the rafters ring,
The stars were dancing with delight;
Now all God's children sing.

One winter's night, a heap of straw
Becomes a place where ages meet
When kings come knocking at the door
And kneeling at your feet.

In you, our God confounds the strong
And makes the crippled dance with joy
And to our barren world belong
His mother and her boy.

In empty streets and broken hearts
You call to mind what he has done;
Where all his loving kindness starts
In sending you a son.

And Mary, while we stand with you,
May once again his Spirit come,
And all his brothers follow you
To reach our Father's home.