Come, my soul, awake, 'tis morning

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Come, my soul, awake, 'tis morning

Author: Friedrich von Canitz; Translator: Catherine Winkworth (1838)
Published in 5 hymnals

Representative Text

Come, my soul, awake, 't is morning,
Day is dawning
O'er the earth, arise and pray;
Come, to Hime who made this splendour
Thou must render
All thy feeble pow'rs can pay.

Soul, thy incense also proffer;
Thou shouldst offer
Praise to Him, who from thy head
Kept afar the storms of sorrow,
And the morrow
Finds the night in peace hath fled.

Bid Him bless what thou art doing,
If pursuing
Some good aim; but if there lurks
Ill intent in thine endeavour,
May He ever
Thwart and turn thee from thy works.

From God's glances shrink thou never,
Meet them ever;
Who submits him to His grace,
Finds that earth no sunshine knoweth
Such as gloweth
O'er his pathway all his days.

Wakenest thou again to sorrow,
Oh! then borrow
Strength from Him, whose sun-like might
On the mountain-summit tarries,
And yet carries
To the vales their mirth and light.

Pray that when thy life is closing,
Calm reposing
Thou mayst die, and not in pain;
That, the night of death departed,
Thou, glad-bearted,
Mayst behold the Sun again.

Source: Chorale Book for England, The #162

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Author: Friedrich von Canitz

Friedrich Rudolph Ludwig von Canitz, German poet and diplomant, was born at Berlin, November 27, 1654. He studied at the universities of Leyden and of Leipzig. After extensive travels in Europe, he was appointed groom of the bedchamber to the elector Frederick William of Brandenburg. In 1680, he became councilor of legation, then privy councilor, and was finally created a baron of the empire. He died in Berlin on August 11, 1699. His poems, which did not appear until after his death, are for the most part dry and stilted, based upon Latin and Greek models, but they were, nevertheless, a healthy influence and counterbalance to the coarseness of contemporary poetry. The spiritual poems, 24 in number, are his best work. They were first… Go to person page >

Translator: Catherine Winkworth

Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used i… Go to person page >

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First Line:	Come, my soul, awake, 'tis morning
German Title:	Seele du musst munter werden
Author:	Friedrich von Canitz
Translator:	Catherine Winkworth (1838)
Meter:	8.4.7.8.4.7
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain