Frederic Woodman Root - Songs Here and Yonder

1. There is here a strain in a minor key,,
On which white lips love to linger;
And the hand that wakens that harmony
Hath a thin and wasted finger;
But the glad “new song” is of blended ties
That the earth may no more sunder;

[CHORUS]
And the diff’rence seemeth on this wise.
’Twixt the sweet songs, Here and Yonder;
And the diff’rence seemeth on this wise.
’Twixt the sweet songs, Here and Yonder;

2. We sing here of sorrow, of pain and deth—
Of sin, bringing death and sorrow;
And the night that floats in the minstrel’s breath
Hath no star and no tomorrow;
And the glad “new song” is a starless skies;
Yet a father’s smile beams under;

[CHORUS]
And the diff’rence seemeth on this wise.
’Twixt the sweet songs, Here and Yonder;
And the diff’rence seemeth on this wise.
’Twixt the sweet songs, Here and Yonder;

3. We may not ALL sing of the tunefull strain,
This side of the darken’d river;
And the lips that waken the sweet refrain
Have a ceaseless moan and quiver;
But tthe sealed lips and the tearful eyes
Are not in the world of wonder.

[CHORUS]
And the diff’rence seemeth on this wise.
’Twixt the sweet songs, Here and Yonder;
And the diff’rence seemeth on this wise.
’Twixt the sweet songs, Here and Yonder.