Abide with Me

Abide with Me is a hymn sung at Nancy Cleghorn’s service. Its drawn-out performance turns a familiar act of communal mourning into a tense, physical experience for V. I. Warshawski, who braces herself through each chord.

Occurrence and Setting

The organ begins playing loudly to signal the minister’s arrival, and the congregation proceeds through Abide with Me at what V. I. Warshawski describes as an exceptionally slow pace. The hymn belongs to the service for Nancy Cleghorn, giving the gathering a shared ritual as it prepares to hear the minister speak of her.

Performance and Narrative Effect

The song’s pace is central to the moment: rather than carrying the service swiftly forward, each succeeding chord seems to require its own effort from the narrator. Her attention to the music registers grief as bodily tension and makes the hymn’s formal solemnity feel prolonged rather than consoling. Later, the service concludes with In Heavenly Love Abiding, creating a musical frame around the minister’s tribute to Nancy Cleghorn.