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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1876 139

Oh! could our thoughts and wishes fly

Studio

1Oh! could our thoughts and wishes fly, Above these gloomy shades, To those bright worlds beyond the sky, Where sorrow ne'er invades!

2There, joys unseen by mortal eyes, Or reason's feeble ray, In ever-blooming prospect rise, Exposed to no decay.

3Lord, send a beam of light divine, To guide our upward aim; With one reviving touch of thine, Our languid hearts inflame.

4Oh! then, on faith's sublimest wing, Our ardent souls shall rise, To those bright worlds where pleasures spring, Immortal in the skies.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
29
Foot
trochaic (DUM-da) · 36% of beats fit
Rhyme
A
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Oh! could our thoughts and wishes fly, Above these gloomy shades, To those bright worlds beyond the sky, Where sorrow ne'er invades!˘˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘˘//˘/˘///˘///29A

Verse 2

There, joys unseen by mortal eyes, Or reason's feeble ray, In ever-blooming prospect rise, Exposed to no decay.//˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘????/˘/˘/˘˘˘/28A

Verse 3

Lord, send a beam of light divine, To guide our upward aim; With one reviving touch of thine, Our languid hearts inflame.//˘/˘/˘/˘//˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘//˘/˘/˘/30A

Verse 4

Oh! then, on faith's sublimest wing, Our ardent souls shall rise, To those bright worlds where pleasures spring, Immortal in the skies.˘/˘/˘/˘//˘/˘/˘/˘˘////˘///˘˘˘/29A

Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.