Hymns and Tunes 1886 109
O that I could forever dwell
C.M.
1O that I could forever dwell
Behold at my Saviour's feet,
Love so boundless, love so pure,
And all his tender words repeat!
2This world is not our home at all,
And heaven brought it with all its bliss.
O, is there aught, from pole to pole,
One moment to compare with this?
3This is the hidden life I prize,—
A life of penitential love;
When most my follies I despise,
And raise my highest thoughts above.
- Meter
- C.M.
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.7.7.8 · the hymnal prints C.M.
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 56% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary · * a word sung short, as “heav’n”
Verse 1
O that I could forever dwell˘˘˘˘˘/˘/8A
Behold at my Saviour's feet,˘/˘˘/˘/7B
Love so boundless, love so pure,/˘/˘/˘/7C
And all his tender words repeat!˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
Verse 2
This world is not our home at all,˘/˘˘˘/˘/8A
And heaven brought it with all its bliss.˘//˘˘/˘/8B*
O, is there aught, from pole to pole,˘˘//˘/˘/8C
One moment to compare with this?//˘˘˘/˘˘8B
Verse 3
This is the hidden life I prize,—˘˘˘/˘/˘/8A
A life of penitential love;˘/˘????/8B
When most my follies I despise,//˘/˘˘˘/8A
And raise my highest thoughts above.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
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.