Great and fair is she, our land

Representative Text

1. Great and fair is she, our land,
High of heart and strong of hand;
Dawn is on her forehead still,
In her veins youth’s arrowy thrill.
Hers are riches, might and fame;
All the earth resounds her name;
In her roadsteads navies ride:
Hath she need of aught beside?

2. Power Unseen, before whose eyes
Nations fall and nations rise,
Grant she climb not to her goal
All-forgetful of the Soul!
Firm in honor be she found,
Justice-armed and mercy-crowned,
Blest in labor, blest in ease,
Blest in noiseless charities.

3. Unenslaved by things that must
Yield full soon to moth and rust,
Let her hold a light on high
Men unborn may travel by.
Mightier still she then shall stand,
Molded by Thy secret hand,
Power Eternal, at whose call
Nations rise and nations fall.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #2020

Author: William Watson

(no biographical information available about William Watson.) Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Great and fair is she, our land
Author: William Watson (1910)
Source: The Muse in Exile (New York: John Lane Company, 1913)
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

ST. GEORGE'S WINDSOR (Elvey)

George J. Elvey (PHH 48) composed ST. GEORGE'S WINDSOR as a setting for James Montgomery's text "Hark! The Song of Jubilee," with which it was published in Edward H. Thorne's Selection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes (1858). The tune has been associated with Alford's text since publication of the hymn in th…

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Media

The Cyber Hymnal #2020
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The Cyber Hymnal #2020

Include 20 pre-1979 instances
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