Hymns and Tunes 1876 491
Woodland
1I LOVE to steal awhile away
From every cumbering care,
And spend the hours of closing day
In humble, grateful prayer.
2I love, in solitude, to shed
The penitential tear,
And all His promises to plead
Where none but God can hear.
3I love to think of mercies past,
And future good implore,
And all my cares and sorrows cast
On Him whom I adore.
4I love, by faith, to take a view
Of brighter scenes to come ;
The prospect doth my strength renew
While here away from home.
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.8.9.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 77% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABAB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
I LOVE to steal awhile away˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
From every cumbering care,˘/˘˘/˘˘/8B
And spend the hours of closing day˘/˘/˘˘/˘/9A
In humble, grateful prayer.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 2
I love, in solitude, to shed˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
The penitential tear,˘????/6B
And all His promises to plead˘/˘/˘˘˘/8C
Where none but God can hear.//˘/˘/6D
Verse 3
I love to think of mercies past,˘/˘/˘///8A
And future good implore,˘/˘///6B
And all my cares and sorrows cast˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
On Him whom I adore.˘˘˘˘˘/6B
Verse 4
I love, by faith, to take a view˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Of brighter scenes to come ;˘/˘/˘/6B
The prospect doth my strength renew˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
While here away from home.//˘/˘/6C
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.