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"To be a Pilgrim" is the only hymn John Bunyan is credited with writing but is indelibly associated with him. It first appeared in Part 2 of Pilgrim's Progress, written in 1684 while he was serving a twelve-year sentence in Bedford Gaol on a charge of preaching without a licence. The hymn recalls the words of Hebrews 11:13: ". . .and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." The verses were slightly mo­di­fied by Per­cy Dear­mer for the 1906 The English Hymnal.^[1]

It was set to music by British composer Vaughan Williams to the traditional Sussex melody "Monk's Gate." The hymn has also been sung to the melody "Moab" (John Ro­berts, 1870) and St. Dun­stans (Charles W. Doug­las, 1917).

Although included in the English Hymnal it is not commonly sung in churches today, perhaps because of the references to "hobgoblin" and "foul fiend." However, one commentator has said: "Bunyan's burly song strikes a new and welcome note in our Hymnal. The quaint sincerity of the words stirs us out of our easygoing dull Christianity to the thrill of great adventure."^[2]

The hymn's refrain "to be a pilgrim" has entered the language and has been been used in the title of a number of books dealing with pilgrimage in a literal or spiritual sense.^[3]

Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band recorded the song on their album Sing Lustily and with Good Courage.

1. ^ The Eng­lish Hymn­al, Lon­don: Ox­ford Un­i­ver­si­ty Press, 1906
2. ^ The Hymnal 1940 Companion, New York: The Church Pension Fund, 1949, p. 331.
3. ^ For example, the novel To be a Pilgrim by Joyce Cary, To be a Pilgrim: A spiritual notebook by Basil Hume, To be a Pilgrim: The medieval pilgrimage experience by Sarah Hopper, and To be a Pilgrim: The Anglican ethos in history by Frederick Quinn.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Pilgrim's Progress, Part II, Section 4 - "Mr. Valiant-for-truth"

• Monk's Gate MIDI file
• A verse sung to the melody Monk's Gate