The favourite chants of and supporters won’t be the only songs heard at for .
The iconic Abide With Me hymn, which has been performed at the final for almost a century, will once again be blurted out by thousands of fans inside the national stadium – as well as the millions watching on TV back home.
But why exactly has the song become a traditional part of FA Cup final match days and what are the full lyrics to the song?
Here is everything you need to know ahead of this afternoon’s showpiece in the .
Why is Abide With Me sung before the FA Cup final?
Abide With Me is a Christian hymn written by Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte.
It is a prayer for God to stay with the speaker in both life and in death.
Lyte is thought to have penned the lyrics whilst he was suffering from tuberculosis in 1847, which he remembered reciting whilst visiting a dying friend in County Wexford in 1820.
Sadly, he passed away just three weeks after he had applied the finishing touches to the hymn, aged 54.
Abide With Me was first performed at an FA Cup final in 1927, which saw Cardiff City beat Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley.
And ever since then, Abide With Me has become a permanent fixture in the build-up to the game.
Given its lyrics, the song was chosen as an attempt to bring both sets of supporters together in unison before kick-off.
The hymn is traditionally performed to the tune of Eventide, by composer William Henry Monk.
It is typically sung around 15 minutes before kick-off.
What are the full lyrics to Abide With Me?
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.
Come not in terror, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea.
Come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me.
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me
Abide with Me lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd
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