For the Beauty of the Earth Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1864
4 verses and a refrain, sung to Dix (7.7.7.7.7.7), public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies—
Refrain Christ our God, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.
Verse 2. For the wonder of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flow’r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light—
Verse 3. For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
For all gentle tho’ts and mild—
Verse 4. For thyself, best Gift Divine!
To our race so freely giv’n,
For that great, great love of thine,
Peace on earth and joy in heav’n—
Sing the refrain after every verse.
Words copied from New Baptist Hymnal (1926). They were published in 1864, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
The hymn library's slide and print features are made by Church Posting.
The story behind For the Beauty of the Earth
Folliott S. Pierpoint wrote the words, and they first appeared in the second edition of Lyra Eucharistica in London in 1864. The book was a collection of hymns for Communion. Pierpoint's poem had eight stanzas and no music. He called it "The Sacrifice of Praise," a phrase from Hebrews 13:15 that also appears in the Communion prayers of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
Pierpoint was born in Bath, England, and studied at Cambridge. Bert Polman writes that he composed the hymn in spring 1863 on a hill outside Bath. The United Methodist history says that link to a spring day is a suggestion and not a documented fact.
The original refrain pointed to the Lord's Supper. Later editors changed it, and the hymnologist Wesley Milgate complained that almost every hymnal prints a different refrain. Editors also cut stanzas. The United Methodist Hymnal prints six of the eight and leaves out stanzas on the martyrs, the prophets, Mary and the incarnation.
The usual tune is DIX. Conrad Kocher wrote the chorale melody in Germany, and William H. Monk shortened it for Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1861. Monk meant it for a different hymn, "As with gladness men of old." Hymnologists find the two joined in print by 1884. John Rutter's choir setting from 1978 renewed interest in the text.
Folliott S. Pierpoint
1835-10-07 to 1917
Folliott Sandford Pierpoint was born at Spa Villa in Bath, England, and studied classics at Queens' College, Cambridge. He taught classics at Somersetshire College for a time. An inheritance let him spend much of his life on study and writing. He published poems and contributed hymns to The Hymnal Noted, Lyra Eucharistica and Churchman's Companion. For the Beauty of the Earth is the only one of his hymns still widely sung. He died in Newport, Monmouthshire, in 1917.
Conrad Kocher
1786 to 1872
Conrad Kocher was born in Ditzingen, Wurttemberg. He trained as a teacher and went to St. Petersburg at seventeen as a tutor before turning to music. He returned to Germany in 1811 and settled in Stuttgart. In 1821 he founded the School for Sacred Song, which spread four-part singing in regional churches. He served as organist and choir director at the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart from 1827 to 1865. William H. Monk shortened one of his chorale melodies into the tune DIX, which most churches sing with For the Beauty of the Earth.
- UM Discipleship, History of Hymns: For the Beauty of the Earth , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnology Archive, For the beauty of the earth , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Folliott S. Pierpoint , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Sing! 73 (tune DIX, key) , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, For the beauty of the earth (song page) , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in For the Beauty of the Earth
The Bible passages behind the words.
- Hebrews 13:15
- Psalm 27:6
For the Beauty of the Earth videos
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For The Beauty Of The Earth (Hymn 429) | Grace Community Church Congregation & Strings Hymns of Grace, Congregation
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For the Beauty of the Earth Martijn de Groot, Congregation
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For the Beauty of the Earth | The Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Choir
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John Rutter: For the beauty of the earth vocalartsmilwaukee, Choir
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For the Beauty of the Earth - piano instrumental hymn with lyrics Kaleb Brasee, Piano
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For the Beauty of the Earth | Reawaken Hymns | Official Lyric Video Reawaken Hymns, Modern arrangement
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Downloads, printing and slides
Sheet music files
- Sheet music PDF 89 KB. Words and all four parts, ready to print.
- Lead sheet PDF 82 KB. Melody, words and chord symbols for piano or guitar.
- MusicXML score XML 54 KB. Opens in MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius and Dorico to change the key or print parts.
- MIDI, all parts MIDI 2 KB. Plays the four-part harmony in any MIDI player or notation app.
- MIDI, melody only MIDI 1 KB. The tune alone, for learning it.
Practice tracks for each voice part, as MIDI: Alto , Tenor , Bass .
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in F or G.
Questions people ask
Who wrote For the Beauty of the Earth?
Folliott S. Pierpoint, an English teacher and poet, wrote it. It first appeared in Lyra Eucharistica in 1864.
What is the story behind For the Beauty of the Earth?
Pierpoint wrote it as a Communion hymn called "The Sacrifice of Praise." Some writers link it to a spring day in Bath, but the United Methodist history calls that a suggestion.
What tune goes with For the Beauty of the Earth?
Most books use DIX, which William H. Monk shaped from a Conrad Kocher chorale for a book published in 1861. Hymnologists find it joined to Pierpoint's words by 1884.
Is For the Beauty of the Earth in the public domain?
The words are public domain in the United States. Pierpoint's text was first published in 1864, and the DIX tune dates to 1838 and 1861. Modern settings can carry their own copyrights.
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