Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
Psalm 90:5–6
Words: Laura E. Newell, in Sonnets of Praise, edited by Emmett S. Dean (Waco, Texas: Trio Music, 1907).
Music: George H. Ramsey (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Ramsey (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels), or a better one of Newell,
As the life of a flower,
As a breath or a sigh,
So the years that we live
As a dream hasten by;
True, today we are here,
But tomorrow may see
Just a grave in the vale,
And a memory of me.
Refrain
As the life of a flower,
As a breath, or a sigh,
So the years glide away,
And alas, we must die.
As the life of a flower,
Be our lives pure and sweet;
May we brighten the way
For the friends that we greet;
And sweet incense arise,
From our hearts as we live
Close to Him who doth teach
Us to love and forgive.
Refrain
While we tarry below
Let us trust and adore
Him who leads us each day
Tow’rd the radiant shore
Where the sun never sets,
And the flowers never fade,
Where no sorrow or death
May its borders invade.
Refrain