Does anyone know the name of the song that the English are singing on the beach at Dunkirk in "Atonement"?

Answer 1

The Redcar-as-Dunkirk scenes include one continuous shot with no cuts, accompanied by "Elegy For Dunkirk" (track 10 on the film's soundtrack). The song is sung on the beach and the bandstand. The song was recorded by Bede College Choir and includes the hymn "Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind".


Lyrics:

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Re-clothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives thy service find,
In deeper reverence praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow thee.

O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with thee
The silence of eternity,
Interpreted by love!

Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still small voice of calm!