Old Melodies

Are we almost there? are we almost there?

No. 1184
Tune ALMOST THERE.
Words Anon.
Music Arranged.
Key F major
Singing key E♭ major
Time 3/4
7 stanzas

Words

Are we almost there? are we almost there?Says the weary saint, as he sighs for home;Are those the verdant trees that rearTheir stately forms 'mid heav'ns bright dome?

Then he talks of the flowers, the unsullied streamThat flows through the paradise of God;And he longs to wake from life's troubled dream,To walk those golden streets abroad.

He is weary and sick of this world's rude strife,And pants for a holy, peaceful clime;To glow with the vigor of endless life,And be compassed no more by the bounds of time.

His eye is fixed on the world to come;He walks by faith through this vale of care,And oft inquires, as he draws near home,With anxious heart, "Are we almost there?"

They bid him look at the charms of earth,At the boasted trophies man doth rear;To enter the giddy halls of mirth;—But ah! how vain do they all appear!

For he 's had an earnest of those joysWhich the righteous alone can ever share;He turns with contempt from these earthly toys,And fervently asks, "Are we almost there?"

He is waiting to hear the trumpet sound,And to meet the Saviour in the air;The day-star dawns; soon with joyous boundHe can say indeed, "We are almost there."

About this hymn

As printed As printed: running head «MISCELLANEOUS—OLD MELODIES.»; hymn number «1184» (large, left), tune name «ALMOST THERE.» centred (condensed capitals and small capitals), «ARRANGED.» at the right (capitals and small capitals); no meter. Stanza 1 is interlinear, one line of print per system, with «1.» before «Are»; it is given below in the verse lines of the other stanzas (the interlinear syllables joined into words). Stanzas 2–7 are printed as text in two columns below the music (2–4 left, 5–7 right), numbered «2»–«7» without a period (written «2.»–«7.» here, as in the other deliveries of this book), each of four verse lines with lines 2 and 4 indented; stanza 3 line 4 runs over into a turnover «time.», joined here into one verse line. «Anon.» in italics after stanza 7. The print sets a thin space before «;» and «!» («God ;», «clime ;», «mirth ;—», «ah !», «appear !»); it is closed up here. Quotation marks and apostrophes are written straight («'mid», «heav'ns», «life's», «world's»); the printed space in «he 's» (stanza 6) is kept, as «we 'll» in the earlier deliveries. Spelling («Saviour», «vigor», «day-star»), punctuation and capitals are the print's. No reference line: the hymn has its own tune.