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SDA Hymnal 48

Softly Now the Light of Day

Words: George Washington DoaneMusic: Carl Maria von WeberTune: Seymour7.7.7.7

Studio

1Softly now the light of day
Fades upon our sight away;
Free from care, from labor free,
Lord, we would commune with Thee.

2Thou, whose all-pervading eye
Nought escapes, with-out, within,
Pardon each infirmity,
Open fault, and secret sin.

3Soon from us the light of day
Shall forever pass away;
Then, from sin and sorrow free,
Take us, Lord, to dwell with Thee.

Also sung to
Merrial (Christ in Song #304)
Meter
7.7.7.7
Scripture
Psalm 141:2; 1 John 1:9; John 14:2-3

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
7.7.7.7 · as printed
Foot
trochaic (DUM-da) · 87% of beats fit
Rhyme
AABB

Could also be sung to Llanfair, Alletta, Durham, Hart, Mercy · same meter and stresses; not printed with these words, so try it first.

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Softly now the light of day/˘/˘/˘/7A
Fades upon our sight away;/˘/˘/˘/7A
Free from care, from labor free,/˘/˘/˘/7B
Lord, we would commune with Thee./˘˘/˘˘/7B

Verse 2

Thou, whose all-pervading eye/˘????/7A
Nought escapes, with-out, within,?˘/˘/˘/7B
Pardon each infirmity,/˘/˘/˘˘7C
Open fault, and secret sin./˘/˘/˘/7B

Verse 3

Soon from us the light of day/˘˘˘/˘/7A
Shall forever pass away;˘˘/˘/˘/7A
Then, from sin and sorrow free,/˘/˘/˘/7B
Take us, Lord, to dwell with Thee./˘/˘/˘/7B

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.