SDA Hymnal 543
Jesus, Friend of Little Children
Words: [unclear]Music: [unclear]Tune: [unclear][unclear]
1Jesus, Friend of little children,
Be a Friend to me;
Take my hand and ever keep me
Close to Thee.
2Teach me how to grow in goodness,
Daily as I grow;
Thou hast been a child, and surely
Thou dost know.
3Step by step, O, lead me onward,
Upward into youth;
Wiser, stronger, still becoming
In Thy truth.
4Never leave me, nor forsake me,
Ever be my Friend;
For I need Thee from life's dawning
To its end.
- Words
- [unclear]
- Music
- [unclear]
- Tune
- [unclear]
- Meter
- [unclear]
The verse
- Meter
- 8.5.8.3
- Foot
- trochaic (DUM-da) · 74% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Jesus, Friend of little children,/˘/˘/˘/˘8A
Be a Friend to me;˘˘/˘˘5B
Take my hand and ever keep me/˘/˘/˘/˘8B
Close to Thee./˘/3B
Verse 2
Teach me how to grow in goodness,/˘/˘/˘/˘8A
Daily as I grow;/˘˘˘/5B
Thou hast been a child, and surely//˘˘/˘/˘8C
Thou dost know.///3B
Verse 3
Step by step, O, lead me onward,/˘/˘/˘/˘8A
Upward into youth;/˘/˘/5B
Wiser, stronger, still becoming/˘/˘/˘/˘8C
In Thy truth.˘//3B
Verse 4
Never leave me, nor forsake me,/˘/˘˘˘/˘8A
Ever be my Friend;/˘˘˘/5B
For I need Thee from life's dawning˘˘//˘//˘8C
To its end.˘˘/3B
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.