[Song, in] An address delivered at West Springfield, August 26, 1856 ::

[Song, in] An address delivered at West Springfield, August 26, 1856

On occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the ordination of the Rev. Joseph Lathrop ...

Holland, J. G. (1819-1881)

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Oh brightly hung the bending sky,
O'er fields that smiled below,
And grandly trailed the river by,
A hundred years ago!

A hundred years ago to-day,
A hundred years ago;
Oh grandly rode the river by,
A hundred years ago!

Green grew the meadows, newly shorn,
Beneath the noontide glow,
And thickly stood the tasseled corn,
A hundred years ago:

A hundred years ago to-day,
A hundred years ago;
Oh thickly stood the serried corn,
A hundred years ago!

The earth and sky are fair and bright,
And grand the river's flow,
As when they drank the summer light
A hundred years ago:

A hundred years ago to-day,
A hundred years ago;
As when they brimmed with summer light,
A hundred years ago.

But where are they—those iron men—
Those maids with brow of snow—
Who dwelt beside the river then—
A hundred years ago:

A hundred years ago to-day—
A hundred years ago—
Whose life ran with the river then—
A hundred years ago?

100

Alas! in yonder hallowed close,
In kindred group and row,
The mounds rise thicker than they rose
A hundred years ago!

A hundred years ago to-day,
A hundred years ago;
Oh fewer mounds were in the close
A hundred years ago!

So here to-day we gather flowers,
Those sacred mounds to strew—
Sweet memories of the golden hours,
A hundred years ago:

A hundred years ago to-day,
A hundred years ago;
Bright memories of the golden hours
A hundred years ago.

And on one blest, beloved tomb,
Our fairest wreath we throw,
Of flowers the sleeper taught to bloom
A hundred years ago!

A hundred years ago to-day,
A hundred years ago;
Sweet flowers the teacher taught to bloom
A hundred years ago!

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