I was reading a novel by Canadian author Alice Munro (The Moons of
Jupiter), and in a short story ("Bardon Bus") an aging but interesting
lady says: Dipping the dipper in the pail, lapped ijn my harmless
craziness, I'd sing hymns, and nobody would wonder.
   (in italics) "He's the Lilly of the Valley,
                 The Bright and Morning Star,
                 The fairest of Ten Thousand to my Soul."

The hymnn grabbed me. Is it from England, long ago, when English
devotional songs were so personal, or is it true Canadian? What are
the rest of the words?

The lyrics of this lovely old hymn were written in 1881 by Charles
William Fry, with music by William Shakespeare Hays. The lyrics
originated in England, and the music's composer was a native of
Louisville, Kentucky. The hymn is known by two names: "Lily of the
Valley" and "I Have Found a Friend in Jesus."

The page linked below will provide the hymn's lyrics, and also a
nicely done MIDI audio file of the melody (which plays automatically
when you load the page).

Orange Pages, The Burning Torch for Protestantism
http://www.kirkdale113.freeserve.co.uk/lilyof.htm

In case you prefer the lyrics without the automatic MIDI, here's a
silent site:

Exit & Support Network Recovery Page: Lily of the Valley
http://home.datawest.net/esn-recovery/dee_rp/poem/lily.htm

A bit of biographical information on the lyricist and composer:

"Charles William Fry...

Born: May 30, 1838, Alderbury, Wiltshire, England (birth name: William
Charles Fry).
Died: August 24, 1882, Park Hall, Polmont, Stirlingshire, Scotland...

A bricklayer by trade, like his father, Fry was a versatile musician,
playing the violin, cello, piano, cornet, and harmonium, and leading
an orchestra and band at the Wesleyan chapel in Alderbury. He also
helped the Christian Mission in Salisbury, and his family band
accompanied Salvation Army founder William Booth in evangelism
campaigns."

CyberHymnal: Charles William Fry
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/f/r/fry_cw.htm

"1837 Charles William Fry... was a successful building contractor when
the Salvation Army began its work in Salisbury in 1878. Fry and his
three sons soon offered their instrumental musical talents and played
for the outdoor meetings. This was the first Salvation Army brass
band. Fry is also remembered as the author of the hymn 'Lily of the
Valley' (a.k.a. 'I Have Found a Friend in Jesus')."

The Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod
http://chi.lcms.org/history/tih030529.htm

"William Shakespeare Hays was born July 19, 1837, in Louisville,
Kentucky. After attending college in Indiana, Tennessee, and his
native Kentucky, he became a reporter for the Louisville Democrat, a
vocation to which he would return later in life as a columnist for
Louisville Courier-Journal after a stint as a steamboat captain on the
Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

His facility with the written word eventually led Hays into the field
of songwriting. Little Ones at Home was published in 1856, the first
of some 350 songs he composed during his lifetime. Mollie Darling,
written in 1872, sold a phenomenal million copies.

During the War Between the States, Hays was jailed in New Orleans for
writing songs that supported the Confederate cause.

Hays died July 23, 1907, in his hometown of Louisville."

Poetry and Music of the War Between the States
http://users.erols.com/kfraser/authors/hays.html

An interesting note: as is the case with many hymns, the music of
"Lily of the Valley" had its origins in a secular tune, in this case a
popular vaudeville song, "Little Old Log Cabin."

"The southern gospel hymn, 'Lily of the Valley,' with words by Charles
W. Fry (1881) was adapted from Hays' 'Little Old Log Cabin.' The
earliest recording was by (Frank) Welling & (John) McGhee in Ashland
Kentucky 1928 (Vo 5251). Charles W. Fry lyrics first appeared in the
Salvation Army's The War Cry, December 29, 1881. Fry wrote the lyrics
in Lincoln, England, while working with the Salvation Army there."

Bluegrass Messengers
http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/master/littleoldlogcabin4.html

Google Web Search: "the fairest of ten thousand" + "lily of the
valley"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22the+fairest+of+ten+thousand%22+%22lily+of+the+valley

Thanks for asking a question that was fascinating to research! If
anything is unclear, or if a link does not function, please request
clarification. I'll be glad to offer further assistance before you
rate my answer.

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

I thought it might be English--don't suppose you have any idea why Fry
said "Fairest of 10,000 to my Soul"? I mean, why not 50,000,000--or
several billion, or however many there were on earth at that time.
That's what I meant by "personal."

Thank you very much for the five-star rating and the generous tip!

In answer to your question about the phrase "fairest of ten thousand,"
it is a Biblical reference from the Song of Solomon, 5:10:

"My beloved is white and ruddy, the fairest among ten thousand."

Other translations say "chiefest among ten thousand," "outstanding
among ten thousand," and "chosen one among ten thousand."

The reference to Christ as "the lily of the valley" also comes from
the Song of Solomon.

But you won't mind if it reminds me of Vezina, will you?

Vezina etait la meilleur guardien de but des tous les temps...

WHO don't need no education?

I won't object if you are reminded of Vezina. After all, the hymn is
about the ultimate goalkeeper. ;-)

Indeed! "the ultimate goalkeeper", taken in a religious context,
reminds me of "the catcher in the rye."

Why are we all "ga"? I suggested "dickon," and the "ga" was added to
my name--I assumed it was because my question dealt with the
construction of a Japanese tea house. But you are also "ga..."

The suffix 'ga' is automatically appended to everyone's user name
here. It stands for "Google Answers." Some day everyone on earth will
have the surname 'ga', which will greatly simplify role call in the
army, since all the sergeant will have to do is yell "GA", and
everybody will respond at once. This will also give us the warm, fuzzy
feeling that we are fundamentally interrelated with our fellow humans,
especially those from Georgia.

I really should have stopped with your "ultimate goalkeeper," which
was an ultimate answer; besides, I'm wasting your precious time.

But I couldn't help remarking on the coincidence of "Google answers"
and my assumption that I had been dubbed dickon-ga because I was
asking a question about the construction of a Japanese tea house, "ga"
and "wa" being words of emphasis added at various places in
Japanese--which I have forgotten, since I stopped studying Japanese.

Thank you for all your help, words of enlightenment, and
entertainment.