DIRGE, a song or hymn of mourning, particularly one sung at funerals or at a Service in commemoration of the dead. It is derived from the first word of the antiphon ”Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam” (Guide, O Lord, my God, my way in Thy sight), of the opening psalm in the office for the dead in the Roman Church. The antiphon is adapted from verse 8 of Psalm v.