The Cyber Hymnal ‎#6211

6211. A Song of Heaven and Homeland

1. Sometimes I hear strange music,
Like none e’er heard before,
Come floating softly earthward
As thro’ Heav’n’s open door:
It seems like angel voices,
In strains of joy and love,
That swell the mighty chorus
Around the throne above.

Refrain
O sweet, celestial music,
Heard from a land afar—
The song of Heav’n and Homeland,
Thro’ doors God leaves ajar!

2. Now soft, and low, and restful,
It floods my soul with peace,
As if God’s benediction
Bade all earth’s troubles cease.
Then, grander than the voices
Of wind, and wave, and sea—
It fills the dome of Heaven
With glorious harmony. [Refrain]

3. This music haunts me ever,
Like something heard in dreams—
It seems to catch the cadence
Of heav’nly winds and streams.
My heart is filled with rapture,
To think, some day to come,
I’ll sing it with the angels—
The song of Heav’n and home. [Refrain]

Text Information

• First Line: Sometimes I hear strange music
• Title: A Song of Heaven and Homeland
• Author: Eben E. Rexford, 1848-1916
• Refrain First Line: O sweet, celestial music
• Language: English
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: In the year 1901 Mr. Eben Rex­ford, ed­it­or of the La­dies’ Home Jour­nal land­scape and gar­den­ing de­part­ment, wrote me, ask­ing a do­na­tion of fif­ty co­pies of Gos­pel Hymns for a poor church, say­ing he would give me twen­ty new hymns in ex­change. I sent the books and re­ceived the hymns, among which I found A Song of Heav­en and Home­land, which I soon set to mu­sic, and which I con­si­der one of my best com­po­si­tions. It was first pub­lished in the La­dies’ Home Jour­nal. Sankey, p. 319

Tune Information

• Name: [Sometimes I hear strange music]
• Composer: Ira David Sankey, 1840-1908
• Incipit: 55671 31114 12334
• Key: F Major
• Copyright: Public Domain