This edition was prepared by Barry Johnston — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Born to Die
Staff Notation • Sacred
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4 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
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Born to Die by Jeremiah Ingalls — Lyrics
1. Thou God of glorious majesty,
To thee against myself, to thee
A worm of earth I cry,
An halfawaken’d child of man,
An heir of endless bliss or pain,
A sinner born to die.
Read full lyrics
About Born to Die
Jeremiah Ingalls’s Born to Die is a devotional anthem, likely conceived for congregational singing in early American churches. Its text offers a stark meditation on human mortality and the precariousness of salvation, contrasting the fleeting earthly existence with the eternal consequences of sin and faith. The lyrics grapple with the soul’s position between heavenly reward and hellish punishment, emphasizing the immediate need for divine grace. Ingalls’s setting for treble, solo bass, and bass (STB) would have provided a rich, yet accessible, harmonic texture for a parish choir. The direct, unsophisticated language and solemn theme make it suitable for services focusing on repentance, judgment, or the solemnity of life's journey.
