The Bridegroom Coming At Midnight

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Dark fall the hours this winter-tide

Author: W. Chatterton Dix
Tune: JOSEPHINE (Kroeger)
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

1 Dark fall the hours this winter-tide,
Strange silence reigns on every side,
And day seems wrapped in gloom,
Save few short hours, which, all too brief,
Light up bare tree and fallen leaf,
Then fade in hapless doom.

2 Now let each lamp be burning bright,
Lest, unaware, the sudden night
Enshroud us in the dark,
And we in vain, through snow and cold,
With wavering feet, seek out the fold,
And Love’s all sheltering ark.

3 O silent hours of wintry days,
From summer’s joy and golden rays,
From autumn’s harvest song,
We turn to you, for ye reveal
The waiting bride, and make us feel,
The Bridegroom comes ere long.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #8804

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Author: W. Chatterton Dix

Most British hymn writers in the nineteenth century were clergymen, but William C. Dix (b. Bristol, England, 1837; d. Cheddar, Somerset, England, 1898) was a notable exception. Trained in the business world, he became the manager of a marine insurance company in Glasgow, Scotland. Dix published various volumes of his hymns, such as Hymns of Love and Joy (1861) and Altar Songs: Verses on the Holy Eucharist (1867). A number of his texts were first published in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861). Bert Polman… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Dark fall the hours this winter-tide
Title:	The Bridegroom Coming At Midnight
Author:	W. Chatterton Dix
Meter:	8.8.6 D
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain