Scripture Verse

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:12

Introduction

portrait
Julia H. Johnston (1849–1919)

Words: Ju­lia H. John­ston, in Bi­ble Stu­dy Songs, by Ber­tha F. Vella & Da­ni­el B. Tow­ner (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts & Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois: Pil­grim Press, 1899), page 130.

Music: Cy­rus T. R. Bow­den, 1899 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know Bow­den’s full name, or where to get a good pho­to of him (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els), or a bet­ter one of John­ston,

Lyrics

The wak­ing flow’rs, the sing­ing birds,
Proclaim the joy­ous spring;
The ve­ry air is full of praise,
Let hap­py child­ren sing.

Refrain

Sing prais­es to the lov­ing Lord,
Who lives in light on high,
For all the to­kens of the spring,
In earth, and air and sky.

The rip­pling laugh­ter of the brook,
The blos­som-la­den trees,
The nod­ding blades of ten­der grass,
Their great Cre­at­or please.

Refrain

The sow­er scat­ters pre­cious grain
For reap­ing by and by;
Life’s spring­time is its sow­ing time,
A sow­er, too, am I.

Refrain