Waiting for Christ

Watchman, tell me, does the morning

No. 842
Metre 8s & 7s. D.
Tune DAWNING.
Words Sidney S. Brewer.
Music William B. Bradbury.
Key G major
Singing key F major
Time 3/4
5 stanzas

Words

Watchman, tell me, does the morningOf fair Zion's glory dawn?Have the signs that mark its comingYet upon thy pathway shone?Pilgrim, yes! arise, look round thee;Light is breaking in the skies;Gird thy bridal robes around thee,Morning dawns, arise! arise!

Watchman, see, the light is beamingBrighter still upon thy way;Signs through all the earth are gleaming,Omens of the coming dayWhen the Jubal trumpet, sounding,Shall awake from earth and seaAll the saints of God, now sleeping,Clad in immortality.

Watchman, hail the light ascendingOf the grand, Sabbatic year;All with voices loud proclaimingThat the kingdom now is near:Pilgrim, yes, I see just yonder,Canaan's glorious hights arise;Salem, too, appears in grandeur,Towering 'neath its sunlit skies.

Watchman, in the golden city,Seated on his jasper throne,Zion's King, arrayed in beauty,Reigns in peace from zone to zone:There on sunlit hills and mountains,Golden beams serenely glow;Purling streams and crystal fountains,On whose banks sweet flow'rets blow.

Watchman, see, the land is nearing,With its vernal fruits and flowers;On, just yonder,—O how cheering!Bloom forever Eden's bowers.Hark! the choral strains are ringing,Wafted on the balmy air,See the millions, hear them singing,Soon the pilgrim will be there.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: running head «WAITING FOR CHRIST—CLOSING WORK.»; hymn number «842» (large), tune name «DAWNING. 8s & 7s. D.» centred over the music (condensed capitals; the «D.» in a smaller size), «WILLIAM B. BRADBURY.» at the right (capitals and small capitals). Stanza 1 is interlinear. System 1 (closed by a repeat sign and «Fine.») carries two lines between the staves, enclosed in braces with «1.» before them — «Watchman, tell me, does the morn - ing Of fair Zi - on's glo - ry dawn?» sung the first time, «Have the signs that mark its com - ing Yet up - on thy pathway shone?» on the repeat — and under them, in italics, the line headed «D. C.—» («Gird thy bri - dal robes a - round thee, Morn-ing dawns, a - rise! a - rise!»), sung to system 1 after the «D. C» that closes system 2 («Pil - grim, yes! a - rise, look round thee; Light is break-ing in the skies;»). Stanza 1 below is assembled in the order sung (verse lines 7–8 are the italic D. C. line). Stanzas 2–5 follow as text, stanzas 2–4 in the left column under the reference line «132, 844, 503.» in italics (= the words may also be sung to the tunes of hymns 132, 844 or 503), stanza 5 beginning at the foot of the left column and continued at the top of the right column («Hark! the choral strains are ringing, …»), then «Sidney S. Brewer.» in italics. The stanza numbers 2–5 are printed without a full stop (numbered «2.»–«5.» here like stanza 1). Lines 2, 4, 6, 8 of each stanza are indented in the print. The print sets a thin space before «;», «:» and «!» («way ;», «near :», «Hark !», «cheering !»); it is closed up here. «hights» (stanza 3), «flow'rets» and «'neath» with straight apostrophes, «yonder,—O» with comma and em dash, as printed. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.