Millennial Harp 21
The Midnight Cry
1The midnight cry begins to sound,
The watchmen wake on Zion's wall;
The year of jubilee has come,
Return, ye ransomed sinners, all.
2Behold, the bridegroom cometh now,
Trim your lamps and make them bright;
He's coming to the marriage feast,
To end the reign of sin and night.
3The wise took oil within their lamps,
The foolish took no oil at all;
So when the bridegroom came at last,
The wise went in to wedding hall.
The verse
- Meter
- 8.8.8.8
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 72% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
The midnight cry begins to sound,˘///˘/˘/8A
The watchmen wake on Zion's wall;˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
The year of jubilee has come,˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
Return, ye ransomed sinners, all.˘///˘/˘/8B
Verse 2
Behold, the bridegroom cometh now,˘/˘///˘/8A
Trim your lamps and make them bright;/˘/˘/˘/7B
He's coming to the marriage feast,//˘˘˘/˘/8C
To end the reign of sin and night.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
Verse 3
The wise took oil within their lamps,˘///˘/˘/8A
The foolish took no oil at all;˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
So when the bridegroom came at last,˘/˘///˘/8C
The wise went in to wedding hall.˘//˘˘/˘/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.