Arbor Day Hymn
Joy for the sturdy trees,
Fanned by each fragrant breeze,
Lovely they stand!
The songbirds o’er them trill;
They shade each tinkling rill*;
They crown each swelling hill;
Lowly or grand.
Plant them by stream and way,
Plant them where the children play
And toilers rest.
In every verdant vale,
On every sunny swale -
Whether to grow or fail,
God knoweth best.
Select the strong, the fair;
Plant them with earnest care;
No toil is vain.
Plant in a fitter place,
Where, like a lovely face,
Let in some sweeter grace,
Change may prove gain.
God will his blessing send,
All things on him depend,
His loving care
Clings to his leaf and flower,
Like ivy to its tower,
His presence and his power
Are everywhere.
By Samuel F. Smith, author of “My Country Tis of Thee” (originally known by the title, “America” (1831)), and sung to the same tune
*rill: a small stream of water or a shallow erosion channel cut by the erosive action of water as it runs down a hillside or slope.
Samuel Francis Smith was born on 21 October 1808 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. He became a Baptist minister, a journalist, and a writer. Samuel Francis Smith passed on at 87 years of age on 16 November 1895 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Joy for the sturdy trees,
Fanned by each fragrant breeze,
Lovely they stand!
The songbirds o’er them trill;
They shade each tinkling rill*;
They crown each swelling hill;
Lowly or grand.
Plant them by stream and way,
Plant them where the children play
And toilers rest.
In every verdant vale,
On every sunny swale -
Whether to grow or fail,
God knoweth best.
Select the strong, the fair;
Plant them with earnest care;
No toil is vain.
Plant in a fitter place,
Where, like a lovely face,
Let in some sweeter grace,
Change may prove gain.
God will his blessing send,
All things on him depend,
His loving care
Clings to his leaf and flower,
Like ivy to its tower,
His presence and his power
Are everywhere.
By Samuel F. Smith, author of “My Country Tis of Thee” (originally known by the title, “America” (1831)), and sung to the same tune
*rill: a small stream of water or a shallow erosion channel cut by the erosive action of water as it runs down a hillside or slope.
Samuel Francis Smith was born on 21 October 1808 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. He became a Baptist minister, a journalist, and a writer. Samuel Francis Smith passed on at 87 years of age on 16 November 1895 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
