The Cyber Hymnal ‎#16196

16196. Homewards (Down The River)

1 Dropping down the trou­bled ri­ver,
To the tran­quil, tran­quil shore;
Dropping down the mis­ty ri­ver,
Time’s wil­low-shad­ed ri­ver,
To the spring em­bo­somed shore,
Where the sweet light shin­eth ev­er,
And the sun goes down no more.
O won­drous, won­drous shore!
O won­drous, won­drous shore!

2 Dropping down the wind­ing ri­ver,
To the wide and wel­come sea;
Dropping down the nar­row ri­ver,
Man’s wea­ry, way­ward ri­ver,
To the blue and am­ple sea,
Where no tem­pest wreck­eth ever,
Where the sky is fair and free.
O joy­ous, joy­ous, sea!
O joy­ous, joy­ous, sea!

3 Dropping down the noi­sy ri­ver,
To our peace­ful, peace­ful home;
Dropping down the tur­bid ri­ver,
Earth’s bust­ling, crowd­ed ri­ver,
To our gen­tle, gen­tle home;
Where the rough roar ris­eth ne­ver,
And the vex­ings can­not come;
O loved and longed for home!
O loved and longed for home!

4 Dropping down the ed­dy­ing ri­ver,
With a helms­man true and tried;
Dropping down the pe­ri­lous ri­ver,
Mortality’s dark ri­ver,
With a sure and heav’n­ly guide;
Even Him who, to de­li­ver
My soul from death, hath died;
O Helmsman true and tried!
O Helmsman true and tried!

5 Dropping down the ra­pid ri­ver,
To the dear and death­less land;
Dropping down the well known ri­ver,
Life’s swoll’n and rush­ing ri­ver,
To the re­sur­rect­ion-land;
Where the liv­ing live for ever,
And the dead have joined the band;
O fair and bless­èd land!
O fair and bless­èd land!

Text Information

• First Line: Dropping down the trou­bled ri­ver
• Title: Homewards (Down The River)
• Author: Horatius Bonar (1861, alt.)
• Language: English
• Source: Hymns of Faith and Hope 2nd series (London, James Nisbet, 1861)
• Copyright: Public Domain

Tune Information

• Name: [Dropping down the trou­bled ri­ver]
• Composer: Edwin Pond Parker (1880)
• Key: A♭ Major
• Copyright: Public Domain