1 Hallowed church bell not for worldly centers
Wast thou made but for the village small,
Where thy toll, as home and hearth it enters,
Blends with lullabies at even fall.
2 When a child, and in the country dwelling,
Christmas morning seemed my heav'n on earth,
And thy chimes, like angel voices swelling,
Told with joy of my Redeemer’s birth.
3 Louder still thy joyful chimes resounded
When, on wings of early morning borne,
They proclaimed: Awake with joy unbounded,
Christ arose this blessed Easter morn.
4 Sweeter even was thy toll when blending
With the calm of summer's eventide,
And, like voices from the sky descending,
They did bid me lay all care aside.
5 Hence, as now the day is softly ending,
Shadows fall, and birds ascend their nest,
With the flower's my head in silence bending,
I am chanting with my soul at rest:
6 "When at last, O church bell, thou art tolling
O’er my grave while loved weep and sigh,
Say to them, their troubled hearts consoling:
'He is resting with his Lord on high.'"
Text Information | |
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First Line: | Hallowed church bell not for earthly centers |
Title: | Hallowed Church Bell, Not For Earthly Centers |
Author: | N. F. S. Grundtvig |
Meter: | 10, 9, 10, 9. |
Language: | English |
Publication Date: | 1928 |
Topic: | Morning and Evening |
Notes: | Danish first line: Kirkeklokke, ej til Hovedstaeder; Translator: J. C. Aaberg |