--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I often heard this melodious hymn again…" description: "\"“I often heard this melodious hymn again in days of hardship, and it always affected me painfully. Not as the reproachful warning clang of church bells..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/sven-anders-hedin-97239_hymn_i-often-heard-this-melodious-hymn-again_2981071.jpg" --- # I often heard this melodious hymn again in days of… ![“I often heard this melodious hymn again in days of hardship, and it always affected me painfully. Not as the reproachful warning clang of church bells ringing for service, when I pass a church door without going in, but because the men sang the hymn only when they were out of spirits and…” quote by Sven Anders Hedin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/sven-anders-hedin-97239_hymn_i-often-heard-this-melodious-hymn-again_2981071.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/sven-anders-hedin-97239_hymn_i-often-heard-this-melodious-hymn-again_2981071.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/sven-anders-hedin-97239_hymn_i-often-heard-this-melodious-hymn-again_2981071.jpg) > ““I often heard this melodious hymn again in days of hardship, and it always affected me painfully. Not as the reproachful warning clang of church bells ringing for service, when I pass a church door without going in, but because the men sang the hymn only when they were out of spirits and considered our position desperate. It seemed as though they would remind me that defeat awaited me, and that this time I had aimed too high.”” Sven Anders Hedin ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels a deep, painful reminder of defeat when hearing a hymn sung by discouraged men, highlighting the emotional weight of shared suffering. **In simple terms:** A hymn sung by sad men feels like a reminder of defeat. Key Takeaway Recognize how collective sorrow can amplify personal doubt. Themes suffering emotional resonance music reflection despair Mood melancholic contemplative somber Type Hymn:1 Suffering:1 Thoughtfulness:1 Sang Hymn:0 Melodious Hymn:0 Hymn Spirits:0 Hymn Days:0 When to use this quote - wartime hardship - spiritual gatherings - personal crises Key Concepts psychology collective mourning symbolic meaning Questions to Reflect On - How does shared music affect morale? - Can hardship be transformed into resilience? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize suffering rather than offering hope. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Thoughtfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtfulness/) ## Related quotes > [“The political entanglement which encompassed me on all sides in Tibet rendered it difficult for me to make geographical discoveries, but it stimulated my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sven-anders-hedin/the-political-entanglement-which-encompassed-me-on-all-sides-in-tibet/) Sven Anders Hedin > [“No one needed to say it, but the room overflowed with that sort of blessing. The combination of loss and abundance. The abundance that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/no-one-needed-to-say-it-but-the-room-overflowed-with-that-sort-of/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [Do you not see the hand of God, which gives harmony, light, and love to the world? Do not the mountains, in the blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-andreyev/do-you-not-see-the-hand-of-god-which-gives-harmony-light-and-love-to/) [Leonid Andreyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-andreyev/) > [May we now all rise and sing the eternal school hymn: "Attack. Attack. Attack Attack Attack!"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/may-we-now-all-rise-and-sing-the-eternal-school-hymn-attack-attack/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) > [“Each Smile a Hymn, each Kindly Word a Prayer.' The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/each-smile-a-hymn-each-kindly-word-a-prayer-the/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [“A hymn for freedom; without border barriers and barbed wire fences. A hymn for freedom; without astute words. A hymn for freedom; without wars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/a-hymn-for-freedom-without-border-barriers-and-barbed-wire-fences-a/) sir kristian goldmund aumann > [“When I fall into the abyss, I go straight into it, head down and heels up, and I’m even pleased that I’m falling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky-the-brothers-karamazov/when-i-fall-into-the-abyss-i-go-straight-into-it-head-down-and-heels/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky - The Brothers Karamazov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky-the-brothers-karamazov/) > [A bird sings, a child prattles, but it is the same hymn; hymn indistinct, inarticulate, but full of profound meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-bird-sings-a-child-prattles-but-it-is-the-same-hymn-hymn-indistinct/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I totally accept that it's a legitimate criticism that when you are involved in the day-to-day scrum of government... that what can get lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clegg/i-totally-accept-that-it-s-a-legitimate-criticism-that-when-you-are/) [Nick Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clegg/) > [“I believe the message in the hymn “Rise Up, O Men of God” (Hymns, no. 324) is a plea, a call, a divine invitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-l-millet/i-believe-the-message-in-the-hymn-rise-up-o-men-of-god-hymns-no-324/) [Robert L. Millet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-l-millet/) > [“It takes an unusual man to make up a hymn in a hurry, but such a man was Captain Roberts. He knew every hymn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-takes-an-unusual-man-to-make-up-a-hymn-in-a-hurry-but-such-a-man/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Choir singing's a wonderful thing for what ails you. There's a lot of meaning in a hymn if you think about it when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vaughan/choir-singing-s-a-wonderful-thing-for-what-ails-you-there-s-a-lot-of/) [Sarah Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vaughan/) > [Far or forgot to me is near; Shadow and sunlight are the same; The vanished gods to me appear; And one to me are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/far-or-forgot-to-me-is-near-shadow-and-sunlight-are-the-same-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The fineness which a hymn or psalm affords / If when the soul unto the lines accords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-fineness-which-a-hymn-or-psalm-affords-if-when-the-soul-unto-the/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [After a lustre of the moon, we say We have not the need of any paradise, We have not the need of any seducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/after-a-lustre-of-the-moon-we-say-we-have-not-the-need-of-any/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) ## More by Sven Anders Hedin > [“The political entanglement which encompassed me on all sides in Tibet rendered it difficult for me to make geographical discoveries, but it stimulated my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sven-anders-hedin/the-political-entanglement-which-encompassed-me-on-all-sides-in-tibet/) Sven Anders Hedin Explore all 2 Sven Anders Hedin quotes ## More Hymn quotes > [After a lustre of the moon, we say We have not the need of any paradise, We have not the need of any seducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/after-a-lustre-of-the-moon-we-say-we-have-not-the-need-of-any/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The fineness which a hymn or psalm affords / If when the soul unto the lines accords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-fineness-which-a-hymn-or-psalm-affords-if-when-the-soul-unto-the/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Far or forgot to me is near; Shadow and sunlight are the same; The vanished gods to me appear; And one to me are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/far-or-forgot-to-me-is-near-shadow-and-sunlight-are-the-same-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Choir singing's a wonderful thing for what ails you. 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Millet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-l-millet/) > [I totally accept that it's a legitimate criticism that when you are involved in the day-to-day scrum of government... that what can get lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clegg/i-totally-accept-that-it-s-a-legitimate-criticism-that-when-you-are/) [Nick Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clegg/) > [A bird sings, a child prattles, but it is the same hymn; hymn indistinct, inarticulate, but full of profound meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-bird-sings-a-child-prattles-but-it-is-the-same-hymn-hymn-indistinct/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When I fall into the abyss, I go straight into it, head down and heels up, and I’m even pleased that I’m falling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky-the-brothers-karamazov/when-i-fall-into-the-abyss-i-go-straight-into-it-head-down-and-heels/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky - The Brothers Karamazov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky-the-brothers-karamazov/) > [“A hymn for freedom; without border barriers and barbed wire fences. A hymn for freedom; without astute words. A hymn for freedom; without wars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/a-hymn-for-freedom-without-border-barriers-and-barbed-wire-fences-a/) sir kristian goldmund aumann > [“Each Smile a Hymn, each Kindly Word a Prayer.' The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/each-smile-a-hymn-each-kindly-word-a-prayer-the/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [May we now all rise and sing the eternal school hymn: "Attack. Attack. Attack Attack Attack!"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/may-we-now-all-rise-and-sing-the-eternal-school-hymn-attack-attack/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) > [Do you not see the hand of God, which gives harmony, light, and love to the world? Do not the mountains, in the blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-andreyev/do-you-not-see-the-hand-of-god-which-gives-harmony-light-and-love-to/) [Leonid Andreyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-andreyev/) > [“No one needed to say it, but the room overflowed with that sort of blessing. The combination of loss and abundance. The abundance that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/no-one-needed-to-say-it-but-the-room-overflowed-with-that-sort-of/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [“The hymn,' with which the Paschal Supper ended, had been sung. Probably we are to understand this of the second portion of the Hallel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-edersheim/the-hymn-with-which-the-paschal-supper-ended-had-been-sung-probably/) [Alfred Edersheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-edersheim/) Browse all 67 Hymn quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I often heard this melodious hymn again in days of hardship, and it always affected me painfully. Not as the reproachful warning clang of church bells ringing for service, when I pass a church door without going in, but because the men sang the hymn only when they were out of spirits and considered our position desperate. 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