Time is winging us away

Representative Text

1 Time is winging us away
To our eternal home;
Life is but a winter's day,
A journey to the tomb:
Youth and vigor soon will flee,
Blooming beauty lose its charms:
All that's mortal soon shall be
Enclosed in death's cold arms.

2 Time is winging us away
To our eternal home;
Life is but a winter's day,
A journey to the tomb:
But the Christian shall enjoy
Health and beauty soon above;
Far beyond the world's alloy,
Secure in Jesus' love.


Source: Living Hymns: for use in the Sabbath School, Christian Endeavor Meetings, the church & home #343

Author: John Burton

Burton, John, born 1773, in Nottingham, where he resided until 1813, when he removed to Leicester, at which town he died in 1822. He was a Baptist, a very earnest Sunday School teacher, and one of the compilers of the Nottingham Sunday School Union Hymn Book, 1812. This book reached the 20th edition in 1861. The 1st edition contains 43 hymns which have his signature. He is known almost exclusively by one hymn, "Holy Bible, book divine" (q.v.). He was also author of The Youth's Monitor, and other similar productions for the young. Robert Hall wrote a recommendatory preface to one of his works. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M. A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)  Go to person page >

Text Information

Notes

Time is winging us away. J. Burton, sen. [New Year.] Published in Hymns for the Use of Sunday Schools selected from Various Authors, Nottingham, J. Dunn, 1812, No. 305, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines, and entitled "Brevity of Life." It has passed into a very large number of hymn-books in Great Britain and America. Of Burton's hymns it ranks next to his "Holy Bible, book divine," in popularity.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

AMSTERDAM (Foundery Collection)

Variation of Hille's SERVICE. For more tune info, see "Hymn Tune Index" (http://hymntune.library.illinois.edu) 1648a-d. Note how attributions to James Nares don't appear until after 1820.

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GENEVA (12333)


[Time is winging us away] (16561)


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The Baptist Hymnal #635

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