I am wait­ing ’mid the sha­dows
Of this dark and dis­mal shore;
I am waiting for the cur­rent,
For the Lord to bear me o’er.
For a cen­tu­ry I have wan­dered,
’Mid the mur­ky shades of earth;
Now I long for Hea­ven’s glo­ry,
World of hap­pi­ness and mirth.

Refrain

Only wait­ing, on­ly wait­ing,
Only wait­ing for the dawn;
Waiting to be with the dear ones
Who have o’er the cur­rent gone.

All my earth­ly tasks are fin­ished,
I’m just wait­ing for my Lord;
Soon my journey will be end­ed,
And I’ll go to my re­ward.
Soon the boat­man o’er the cur­rent,
Will come glid­ing with his bark,
And he’ll bear me o’er the bil­lows
That are roll­ing deep and dark.

Refrain

Soon the sun­light of the hea­ven,
That is built for man on high,
Will in beams of bright­est glo­ry,
Fall in tri­umph from the sky.
While I mount from death and dark­ness,
To be­hold the glow­ing face
Of the Christ I love so dear­ly,
And to rest in His em­brace.

Refrain

Only wait­ing for the morn­ing,
Waiting by the cur­rent dark;
Waiting for the com­ing sig­nal,
For my man­sion to em­bark.
And I know the boat­man’s near me,
For it seems I hear the oar
Of the boat that soon will bear me
To the bright ec­sta­tic shore.

Refrain

Farewell earth, with all thy sha­dows,
Farewell dark­ness, death and pain,
I am go­ing home to glo­ry,
With the saints on high to reign;
There these eyes shall see the splen­dors
Of the ci­ty built on high,
There these feet shall tread the pave­ments
Where none ev­er droop or die.

Refrain