by Sarojini Naidu (1879 - 1949)
Harvest Hymn
Language: English
Men's Voices Lord of the lotus, lord of the harvest, Bright and munificent lord of the morn! Thine is the bounty that prospered our sowing. Thine is the bounty that nurtured our corn. We bring thee our songs and our garlands for tribute, The gold of our fields and the gold of our fruit; O giver of mellowing radiance, we hail thee, We praise thee, O Surya, with cymbal and flute. Lord of the rainbow, lord of the harvest, Great and beneficent lord of the main! Thine is the mercy that cherished our furrows, Thine is the mercy that fostered our grain. We bring thee our thanks and our garlands for tribute, The wealth of our valleys, new-garnered and ripe; O sender of rain and the dewfall, we hail thee, We praise thee, Varuna, with cymbal and pipe. Women's Voices Queen of the gourd-flower, queen of the harvest, Sweet and omnipotent mother, O Earth! Thine is the plentiful bosom that feeds us, Thine is the womb where our riches have birth. We bring thee our love and our garlands for tribute, With gifts of thy opulent giving we come; O source of our manifold gladness, we hail thee, We praise thee, O Prithvi, with cymbal and drum. All Voices Lord of the Universe, Lord of our being, Father eternal, ineffable Om! Thou art the Seed and the Scythe of our harvests, Thou art our Hands and our Heart and our Home. We bring thee our lives and our labours for tribute, Grant us thy succour, thy counsel, thy care. O Life of all life and all blessing, we hail thee. We praise thee, O Bramha, with cymbal and prayer.
L. Lehmann sets stanzas 1, 3-4
Confirmed with Sarojini Naidu, The Golden Threshold, London: William Heinemann, 1905.
Text Authorship:
- by Sarojini Naidu (1879 - 1949), "Harvest Hymn", appears in The Golden Threshold, in 1. Folk Songs [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 Liza Lehmann (1862 - 1918), "Harvest Hymn", published 1907, stanzas 1,3-4 [ SATB chorus and orchestra ], from The Golden Threshold : An Indian Song-Garland , no. 1, London: Boosey & Co. [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2023-08-15
Line count: 35
Word count: 279