[Music]
Young people all, attention give,
While I address you in God's name,
You who in sin and folly live,
Come hear the counsel of a friend.
I sought for bliss in glitt'ring toys,
And ranged th' alluring scenes of vice,
But never found substantial joys
Until I heard my Savior's voice.
He spake at once my sins forgiven
And wash'd my load of guilt away;
He gave me glory, peace and heaven,
And thus I found the heav'nly way.
And now with trembling sense I view
The billows roll beneath your feet;
For death eternal waits for you
Who slight the force of gospel truth.
Youth, like the spring, will soon be gone
By fleeting time or conquering death;
Your morning sun may set at noon
And leave you ever in the dark.
Your sparkling eyes and blooming cheeks
Must wither like the blasted rose;
The coffin, earth and winding-sheet
Will soon your active limbs enclose.
Ye heedless ones that wildly stroll,
The grave will soon become your bed,
Where silence reigns and vapors roll
In solemn darkness round your head.
Your friends will pass the lonesome place
And with a sigh move slow along;
Still gazing on the spires of grass
With which your graves are overgrown.
The compiler of _Olive Leaf_ gives the following notes: "From
McAnally's _Western Harp_" and "Called after the late Wm. Patton, of
Mo. Heard him sing it, first, at a camp-meeting, North Cove, Burk Co.,
N. C., in 1831 or 1832. Published by the admirable A. S. Hayden,
perhaps in 1829." The Celtic melodic influence is clearly felt in the
above tune.
No. 15
DYING BOY, OSH 398