The Cyber Hymnal ‎#10726

10726. Why, On The Bending Willows Hung

1 Why, on the bending willows hung,
Israel! still sleeps thy tuneful string?
Still mute remains thy silent tongue,
And Zion’s song denies to sing?

2 Awake! thy sweetest raptures raise,
Let harp and voice unite their strains;
Thy promised king His scepter sways,
Jesus, thine own Messiah, reigns!

3 No taunting foes the song require,
No strangers mock thy captive chain;
But friends provoke the silent lyre,
And brethren ask the holy strain.

4 Nor fear thy Salem’s hills to wrong,
If other lands thy triumph share;
A heavenly city claims thy song,
A brighter Salem rises there.

5 By foreign streams no longer roam,
Nor, weeping, think of Jordan’s flood;
In every clime behold a home,
In every temple see thy God.

Text Information

• First Line: Why, on the bending willows hung
• Title: Why, On The Bending Willows Hung
• Author: James Joyce
• Meter: LM
• Language: English
• Source: Christian Observer, December, 1809 (Original first line: "High on the bending willows hung")
• Copyright: Public Domain

Tune Information

• Name: CAIRO
• Meter: LM
• Key: G Major
• Source: The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book by Lowell Mason, Edwards A. Park and Austin A. Phelps (New York: Mason Brothers, 1859)
• Copyright: Public Domain