1807–1882

Introduction

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Born: Feb­ru­ary 27, 1807, Port­land, Maine.

Died: March 24, 1882, Mount Au­burn Ce­me­te­ry, Cam­bridge, Mas­sa­chu­setts.

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Poem

The Singers

God sent His singers upon earth
With songs of sadness and of mirth;
That they might touch the hearts of men,
And bring them back to heaven again.

The first, a youth, with soul of fire,
Held in his hand a golden lyre;
Through groves he wandered and by streams,
Playing the music of our dreams.

The second, with a bearded face,
Stood singing in the market place;
And stirred with accents deep and loud,
The hearts of all the listening crowd.

A gray old man, the third and last,
Sang in cathedrals dim and vast;
While the majestic organ rolled,
Contrition from its mouths of gold.

And those who heard the singers three,
Disputed which the best might be;
For still their music seemed to start,
Discordant echoes from each heart—

Till the great Master said, I see
There is no best, but in degree:
I gave a various gift to each,
To charm, to strengthen and to teach.

These are the three great Chords of might,
And he whose ear is tuned aright,
Will hear no discord in the three,
But the most perfect harmony.

Henry Wads­worth Longfel­low
The Sea­side and the Fire­side, 1849

Sources

Lyrics

  1. Ah How Skill­ful Grows the Hand
  2. Ah What a Sound the In­fi­nite Fierce Chor­us
  3. Alas How Poor and Lit­tle Worth
  4. All Are Ar­chi­tects of Fate
  5. All Is of God, if He but Wave His Hand
  6. All Thoughts of Ill, All Ev­il Deeds
  7. Art Is Long, and Time Is Fleet­ing
  8. As a Fond Mo­ther, When the Day Is O’er
  9. As Tor­rents in Sum­mer
  10. Bright For­ev­er­more, The
  11. Day Is Cold, and Dark, and Drea­ry, The
  12. Down the Dark Fu­ture
  13. Hadst Thou Stayed, I Must Have Fled
  14. Into the Si­lent Land, Ah, Who Shall Lead Us Thi­ther?
  15. Into What Land of Har­vests What Plan­ta­tions
  16. Is It So Far from Thee?
  17. I Heard the Bells on Christ­mas Day
  18. I Heard the Trail­ing Gar­ments of the Night
  19. I Like That An­cient Sax­on Phrase
  20. I Stand With­out Here in the Porch
  21. Life Is Real, Life Is Ear­nest
  22. O Gift of God, O Per­fect Day
  23. O Lit­tle Feet, That Such Long Years
  24. Sail On, Sail On, O Thou Ship of State
  25. Saint Au­gus­tine Has Tru­ly Said
  26. Savior Said, Yet One Thing More, The
  27. Sleep, Com­rades, Sleep, Sleep and Rest
  28. Stars of the Sum­mer Night
  29. Take Them, O Death, and Bear Away
  30. Tell Me Not, in Mourn­ful Num­bers
  31. There Is a Reap­er Whose Name Is Death
  32. There Is No Death, What Seems So Is Tran­si­tion
  33. There Is No Flock, How­ev­er Watched and Tend­ed
  34. Two An­gels, One of Life and One of Death
  35. We’re Half the Pow­er That Fills the World
  36. We Have Not Wings, We Can­not Soar
  37. When the Hours of Day Are Num­bered

Translations

  1. Oh, How Blest Are Ye Whose Toils Are End­ed
  2. When Christ Was Born in Beth­le­hem (Bees­ley)
  3. When Christ Was Born in Beth­le­hem (Tay­lor)