by George Santayana (1863 - 1952)
Good Friday Hymn
Language: English
I When the Lord Christ paid life with death, Beside the cross his Mother stood; She saw her Child yield up his breath, She knew the passing of her God. And He said : Lady, though I go, I leave thee not without a son; All men for whom my blood doth flow Shall call thee mother, -- all for one. This bitter life is past for me, I can thy love no farther prove; But many eyes shall turn to thee : Behold thy son in them I love ! And Mary said : So be it done ; Be they my children in thy stead ; I will love all, who loved but one, And in the living see the dead. II My soul's Lord, too, paid life with death, And empty was her wide abode ; She saw her child yield up his breath, She knew the passing of her God. And she said : Lord, since thou art gone, Thou canst my love no farther prove ; But while I live each flower and stone Shall bear thy name and prove my love.
Authorship:
- by George Santayana (1863 - 1952), "Good Friday Hymn", appears in Sonnets and Other Verses, first published 1906 [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 John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Good Friday Hymn", 1980. [medium voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-02-14
Line count: 26
Word count: 186