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by Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864)

Give the stranger happy cheer
Language: English 
Give the stranger happy cheer, 
When o'er his cheek, the teardrops start, 
The balm that flows from one kind word 
May heal the wound in a breaking heart. 

Scorn not the grief that his breast may outpour 
It may be for loved ones on some distant shore. 

Oh! give the stranger happy cheer, 
When, o'er his cheek, the teardrops start, 
The balm that flows from one kind word 
May heal the wound in a breaking heart. 

Give the stranger happy cheer, 
While forms familiar 'round ye stand, 
Ye may not know what weight of woe 
The wanderer bears in an unknown land. 

Around ye no blessings more sweetly may fall 
Than those which the way-wearied exile may call. 

Oh! give the stranger happy cheer. 
When, o'er his cheek the tear-drops start, 
The balm that flows from one kind word 
May heal the wound in a breaking heart. 

Give the stranger happy heer. 
Where e'er you find him, wan and weak, 
'Twere little cost, 'twere nothing lost 
To all a smile o'er his care-worn cheek. 

Your kindness for years in his memory may rest 
To gladden his footsteps and comfort his breast. 

Oh! give the stranger happy cheer, 
When, o'er his cheek the teardrops start, 
The balm that flows from one kind word 
May heal the wound in a broken heart.

Text Authorship:

  • by Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864), "Give the stranger happy cheer" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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

  • by Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864), "Give the stranger happy cheer", published 1851. [voice and piano] [
     text verified 1 time
    ]

Researcher for this page: Laura Prichard [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2015-12-26
Line count: 30
Word count: 220

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