Scripture Verse

The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all. Proverbs 22:2

Introduction

portrait
Fanny Crosby (1820–1915)

Words: Fan­ny Cros­by, in Songs of Joy and Glad­ness, ed­it­ed by Will­iam Kirk­pat­rick et al. (Bo­ston, Mas­sa­chu­setts: Mc­Dona­ld & Gill, 1885). Some hym­nals give the au­thor as Hen­ri­et­ta Blair, one of Fan­ny’s pseu­do­nyms.

Music: Will­iam J. Kirk­pat­rick (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
William J. Kirkpatrick (1838–1921)

Kirkie [Kirk­pat­rick] was leav­ing Fan­ny’s flat one day aft­er an all too brief vis­it. Oh dear, it’s noth­ing but meet­ing and part­ing in this world, isn’t it? she re­marked. The jo­vi­al Pro­fess­or re­plied, Well, I will not say, as Bliss did, Meet me at the fount­ain, but I will say, Where the tree of life is bloom­ing, meet me there. This in­spired Fan­ny to write a hymn en­ti­tled Meet Me There, for which Kirk­pat­rick sup­plied the mu­sic.

Ruffin, p. 142

Lyrics

On the happy, gold­en shore,
Where the faith­ful part no more,
When the storms of life are over,
Meet me there;
Where the night dis­solves away
Into pure and per­fect day,
I am go­ing home to stay—meet me there.

Refrain

Meet me there, meet me there,
Where the tree of life is bloom­ing,
Meet me there;
When the storms of life are o’er,
On the hap­py gold­en shore,
Where the faith­ful part no more,
Meet me there.

Here our fond­est hopes are vain,
Dearest links are rent in twain,
But in Heav’n no throb of pain—
Meet me there;
By the river spark­ling bright
In the city of delight,
Where our faith is lost in sight,
Meet me there.

Refrain

Where the harps of an­gels ring,
And the blest for­ev­er sing,
In the pa­lace of the King,
Meet me there;
Where in sweet com­mun­ion blend
Heart with heart and friend with friend,
In a world that ne’er shall end,
Meet me there.

Refrain