Theodore Brown Hewitt · 145 of 194
Various authors and 'Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden'
A very familiar hymn in English-speaking countries is Thomas Rawson Taylor's "I'm but a stranger here" written in 1834. It was published in 1836 in his Memoirs and Select Remains, and headed "Heaven is my home. Air--'Robin Adair.'" In America it is usually sung to Arthur S. Sullivan's "'s Rest." The hymn so closely resembles Gerhardt's lines in "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden" that the parallels are given below:
Other similarities to "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden" are:
(a) "The Pilgrim," by Sarah H. Palfrey, in the Schaff-Gilman Lib. Rel. Poetry.
This poem would perhaps bear but slight resemblance to Gerhardt's were it not for the final stanza where the element of joy is introduced:
These lines are certainly suggestive of Gerhardt's words in his stanza XIII:
(b) "The Pilgrim's song," by H. F. Lyte, in his Poems chiefly Religious, 1833 and 1845,
Although Lyte based his hymn on Hebrews IV, 9, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God," he treats in his concluding stanza the additional theme of hope and cheer which, as has been seen, was a constant and favorite topic with Gerhardt. Since this chapter of Hebrews has no direct reference to this theme we have good reason to assume that from the striking similarity of language of the two hymns Lyte was influenced by Gerhardt's "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden." Especially in stanza VII is the likeness most noticeable:
(c) "In exile here we wander," by W. Cooke. [Septuagesima.] This hymn appeared in the Hymnary, 1872, under the signature "A. C. C." (i. e., "A Canon of Chester"), and is definitely known to have been suggested to Canon Cooke by Gerhardt's hymn. In Thring's Collection, 1882, stanza III, lines 4-8 is altered to: