The Cyber Hymnal ‎#12247

12247. Roll On, O Billow Of Fire!

1 Hark! the alarm, the clang of the bells!
Signal of danger, it rises and swells;
Flashes like lightning illumine the sky,
See the red glare as the flames mount on high.

Refrain:
Roll on, roll on, O billow of fire!
Dash, with thy fury-waves higher and higher;
Ours is a mansion abiding and sure;
Ours is a kingdom eternal, secure.

2 Oh, like a fiend in its towering wrath,
On, and destruction alone points the path;
"Mercy, O Heaven," the sufferers wail,
Feeble humanity naught can avail. [Refrain]

3 Thousands are homeless, and quick to their cry,
Heaven-born charity yields a supply;
Upward we glance in our terrible grief,
"Give us this day," brings the promised relief. [Refrain]

4 Treasures have vanished, and riches have flown,
Hopes for the earth-life are blasted and gone;
Courage, O brother yield not to despair:
"God is our refuge," His kingdom we share. [Refrain]

Text Information

• First Line: Hark! the alarm, the clang of the bells!
• Title: Roll On, O Billow Of Fire!
• Author: Philip Paul Bliss (1871)
• Refrain First Line: Roll on, roll on, O billow of fire!
• Language: English
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: [Bliss’] first Sunday school singing-book was The Charm, which had just gotten into market when the great Chicago fire destroyed the plates and dimmed its lustre, at least in the eyes of the author. Mr. Bliss, immediately after the fire, in company with Mr. Moody, started on a trip to Boston, and other eastern cities, and held Fire meetings, in aid of the suffering ones of the stricken city. While on this tour he missed the train of cars at Albany, and then wrote the Fire Song, Roll On, O Billow of Fire. Long, pp. 48–51

Tune Information

• Name: [Hark! the alarm, the clang of the bells!]
• Composer: Philip Paul Bliss
• Key: D Major
• Copyright: Public Domain