It's good to laugh when the heart is young
It's good to hear the sweet song sung
It's good to [sit]1 'neath the boundless sky,
To hear God's wind go rushing by.

It's good to grip an honest hand,
To find a friend in [every]2 land,
It's good to hear Time's cataract roar,
Not looking backward, but before.

It's good to love when the heart beats high,
It's good to love till the end is nigh,
But best of all to live your span,
It's good to live and be a man.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with The Oregon Voter: Magazine of Citizenship--for Busy Men and Women, Volume 36, 1924, author unattributed.

¹ Allitsen: "out" [sic]
² Allitsen: "ev'ry"

Text Authorship:

• by Edward Frederick Lockton (1876 - 1940), as Edward Teschemacher, no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

• a text in Swedish (Svenska) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist  [text unavailable]
  • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Frances Allitsen (1848 - 1912), "Youth", published 1904 [ voice and piano ], London: Boosey & Co. [sung text checked 1 time]

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2012-10-22
Line count: 12
Word count: 94