Ye shall be gathered one by one.
Isaiah 27:12
Words: Annie E. Dunn, in Bright Gems (York, Pennsylvania: Crider & Brother, 1881), number 52.
Music: Changsha Samuel B. Ellenberger, 1881 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know Dunn’s full name, or where to get a good photo of her or Ellenberger (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
One by one the ties are sundered—
Ties that make the earth so dear;
Loves that bind us to each other
One by one are riven here;
But by and by they’ll, one by one, be
Linked again before the throne.
One by one as friends we’re severed,
Sundered far by miles and years;
Bitter partings must be spoken,
Causing flow of floods of tears;
But by and by we’ll, one by one,
Meet again before the throne.
Yes, we’ll meet no more to sever,
Never more to say farewell;
None shall part us then forever;
Then again our thoughts we’ll tell
When we’re gathered, one by one,
Safe at home before the throne.