Death and Resurrection

How vain is all beneath the skies

No. 926
Metre L. M.
Tune PROTECTION.
Words David E. Ford.
Music H. Abbott.
Key A-flat major
Singing key A♭ major
Time 3/2
4 stanzas

Words

How vain is all beneath the skies!How transient every earthly bliss!How slender all the fondest tiesThat bind us to a world like this!

The evening cloud, the morning dew,The withering grass, the fading flower,Of earthly hopes are emblems true—The glory of a passing hour.

But though earth's fairest blossoms die,And all beneath the skies is vain,There is a land whose confines lieBeyond the reach of care and pain.

Then let the hope of joys to comeDispel our cares, and chase our fears:If God be ours, we're traveling home,Though passing through a vale of tears.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: running head «DEATH AND RESURRECTION.»; hymn number «926» (large), tune name «PROTECTION. L. M.» centred over the music (condensed capitals and small capitals), «H. ABBOTT.» at the right (capitals and small capitals). Stanza 1 is interlinear, between the staves, one line per system, with «1.» before «How»: «1. How vain is all beneath the skies! How tran - sient ev - ery earth-ly bliss!» under system 1 and «How slen-der all the fond-est ties That bind us to a world like this!» under system 2 («beneath» is printed whole under two notes). The italic reference line «929, 932.» stands over stanza 2 (= may also be sung to the tunes of hymns 929 WINDHAM or 932 FEDERAL STREET, both L. M.). Stanzas 2–4 are printed as text below the music: stanza 2 and the first two lines of stanza 3 in the left column, the last two lines of stanza 3 («There is a land whose confines lie / Beyond the reach of care and pain.») and stanza 4 at the top of the right column; numbered «2»–«4» without a full stop (written «2.»–«4.» here, as in the other deliveries of this book); lines 2 and 4 of each stanza indented. «David E. Ford.» in italics after stanza 4. The print sets a thin space before «!» and «:» («skies !», «bliss !», «this !», «fears :»); it is closed up here. The apostrophes of «earth's» and «we're» are written straight. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's («traveling», the dash of «true—»). A handwritten ink note of the exemplar between the hymn number and the tune name («Annie Smith») is not print and is not transcribed (see uncertainties.md).