1Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee;E’en though it be a crossThat raiseth me;Still all my song shall be,Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee.
2Though, like the wanderer,The sun gone down,Darkness comes over me,My rest a stone;Yet in my dreams I’d beNearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee.
3There let my way appearSteps unto Heav’n,All that Thou sendest meIn mercy given,Angels to beckon meNearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee.
4Then, with my waking thoughtsBright with Thy praise,Out of my stony griefsBeth-el I’ll raise;So by my woes to beNearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee.
5Or if on joyful wingCleaving the sky,Sun, moon, and stars forgot,Upward I fly,Still all my song shall be,Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee.
Text from archive.org. Public domain in the US and UK.
Bands across the United States played it, as President William McKinley’s favorite hymn, in his memory on 14 September 1901, the day he died. (source)
Where it comes in the service
In a Church of England funeral hymns may be sung at any suitable point; the Church's own step-by-step guide places one once everyone has gathered and another after the prayers. At a Catholic funeral Mass there is an entrance song, Communion hymns and a closing hymn at the procession.
In step 5 you can tick exactly which verses to print.
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Nearer, My God, to Thee is in the public domain in the United States (first published 1841) and in the United Kingdom (author died 1848), so the words can be printed in a booklet without permission or a fee.
Printed here as in the source, except: Verse 5 is not in Hymns Ancient and Modern; it is taken from The Canadian Soldiers' Song Book (1918), validated Wikisource transcription, where it is printed as 'Or if on joyful wing cleaving the sky, / Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I fly, / Still all my song shall be-- / Nearer, my God, to Thee / Nearer to Thee!'; Verse 5 re-lined to the seven-line layout of verses 1-4, with capitals at the new line starts 'Cleaving' and 'Upward'; Verse 5: dash after 'shall be' replaced with a comma, and the closing lines punctuated as in verses 1-4 ('Thee,' / 'Thee.').