by Frederick E. Weatherly (1848 - 1929)
The worker
Language: English
The night lay o’er the city, The rain and winds made moan; The worker in his garrett With nought of earth to praise him, No earthly love to bless; But there was one in Heaven Still cheered his loneliness. Courage, true heart, courage! She waiteth beyond the sun To welcome thee to Heaven When thy brave work is done. Far on the hills of Heaven An angel watching leant With glad eyes earthward bent, And whispered thro’ the quiet, ‘I come to thee anon. Toil on, O my beloved, Thy work is well nigh done.’ A few more nights of labour, Of struggling bravely on, And then God sent the angel. The worker’s work was done. Cold lay the lifeless body Within that cheerless place, A smile of peaceful trusting Upon the poor thin face. But from the lonely garrett, Unseen of mortal sight, Two angels happy-hearted Passed into Heaven that night! Two angels happy-hearted Passed into Heaven that night!
Authorship:
- by Frederick E. Weatherly (1848 - 1929) [author's text not yet checked 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 Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893), "The worker", 1872 [voice and piano or orchestra], London, Goddard & Co. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2016-01-08
Line count: 32
Word count: 160