Oh to be ov­er yon­der,
In that bright land of won­der,
Where the an­gel voices min­gle, and
The ang­el harps do ring!
To be free from care and sor­row,
And the anx­ious dread to­mor­row,
To rest in light and sun­shine in
The pre­sence of the King!

Refrain

Oh to be ov­er yon­der!
In that land of wonder,
There to be for­ev­er
In the pre­sence of the King!

Oh to be ov­er yonder!
My long­ing heart grows fon­der
Of look­ing to the far off east,
To see the day­star bring
Some tid­ings of th’awak­ing—
Of the cloud­less, pure day break­ing,
My heart is yearn­ing—yearn­ing for
The com­ing of the King!

Refrain

Oh to be ov­er yon­der!
Alas! I sigh and pon­der—
Why clings this poor, weak heart of mine
To any earth­ly thing?
For each earth­ly tie must se­ver,
And pass away for­ev­er:
There’s no more se­pa­ra­tion in
The pre­sence of the King!

Refrain

Oh, when shall I be dwell­ing
Where an­gel voices, swell­ing
In tri­um­phant hal­le­lu­jahs, make
The vault­ed hea­vens ring—
Where the pear­ly gates are gleam­ing,
And the Morn­ing Star is beam­ing?
O when shall I be yon­der in
The pre­sence of the King?

Refrain

Oh, when shall I be yon­der?
The long­ing grow­eth strong­er
To join in all the prais­es the
Redeemèd ones do sing.
Within those hea­ven­ly places,
Where the an­gels veil their faces,
In awe and ad­or­ation, in
The pre­sence of the King!

Refrain

Oh, I shall soon be yon­der,
And lon­ely as I wan­der,
Yearning for the wel­come su­mmer—
Longing for the bird’s fleet wing,
The mid­night may be drea­ry,
And the heart be worn and wea­ry,
But there’s no more sha­dow yon­der,
In the pre­sence of the King.

Refrain