Old Melodies

'Twas a doleful night on Calvary's hight

No. 1152
Tune SAVIOUR COME.
Words Annie R. Smith.
Music Arranged.
Key B-flat major
Singing key B♭ major
Time 4/4
5 stanzas

Words

'Twas a doleful night on Calvary's hight,When the Lamb of God was slain;But hope's cheering ray shone bright o'er the dayWhen he rose from the tomb again.

O Jesus, my Saviour! dear Saviour, come!Our hearts weary grow of thy long delay;O hasten to gather us home.

I go, he said, to prepare a place,Blest mansions in glory's domain;And the promise sure, sweetly fell from his lips,"For you I 'll return again."

How long, O Lord, shall we watch and weepFor the rightful heir to reign?And the myriad saints in silence sleep,Who wait thy return again?

See the signs fulfilled of his advent near!Soon he comes in his kingdom to reign!Not long will the wheels of his chariot stay,That brings his return again.

The soul once bowed 'neath its burden of woeShall rejoice o'er the flowery plain,And a dazzling crown deck the careworn brow,When the King in his beauty shall reign!

About this hymn

As printed As printed: running head «MISCELLANEOUS—OLD MELODIES.»; hymn number «1152» (large), tune name «SAVIOUR COME.» centred over the music (condensed capitals; no comma, no meter), «ARRANGED.» at the right (capitals and small capitals); no reference line. Stanza 1 is interlinear, in a bold condensed face. Between the staves of system 1, in a brace with «1.» before it: «'Twas a dole - ful night on Cal - vary's hight, When the Lamb cf God was slain;» (first time, first ending «1st.») and «But hope's cheering ray shone bright o'er the day When he (omit.) . . . .» (second time: «(omit.)» in italics = skip the first ending), continued right of the closing brace, under the second ending «2d.», by «rose from the tomb a - gain.». System 2 carries the refrain on one line, without a label: «O Je - sus, my Saviour! dear Saviour, come! Our hearts weary grow of thy long delay; O hast-en to gather us home.»; it is printed once and is sung after every stanza. Stanza 1 below is assembled in the order sung («When he … rose» joined); «dole - ful», «Cal - vary's», «a - gain», «Je - sus», «hast-en» are written as whole words; the refrain is divided into three lines here at its rhymes («come!», «delay;», «home.» — the print runs it on one staff line). Stanzas 2–5 follow as text in the left column, numbered «2»–«5» without a full stop (numbered «2.»–«5.» here like stanza 1); lines 2 and 4 of each stanza are indented; the long third lines of stanzas 2 and 5 are turned over in the print («from his / lips,», «careworn / brow,») and are one line here. «Annie R. Smith.» in bold italics under stanza 5. The print sets a thin space before «;», «!» and «?» and after the opening quotation mark («domain ;», «reign ?», «near !», «" For»); it is closed up here; curly quotes and apostrophes are written straight. «I 'll» (stanza 2) is set with a space before the apostrophe and kept so. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's, including «hight» and «cf» (for «of») in stanza 1 (see `uncertainties.md`).