When, Marshaled on the Nightly Plain

Melody - "Crimea," Thoro Harris, ca. 1905

Henry Kirke White, 1785-1806

When, marshaled on the nightly plain,
The glittering hosts bestud the sky,
One star alone of all the train
Can fix the sinner's wandering eye.

2. Hark! hark! to God the chorus breaks,
From every host, from every gem;
But one alone the Savior speaks,
It is the Star of Bethlehem.

3. Once on the raging seas I rode,
The storm was loud, the night was dark,
The ocean yawned, and rudely blowed
The wind that tossed my foundering bark.

4. Deep horror then my vitals froze,
Death struck, I ceased the tide to stem,
When suddenly a star arose,
It was the Star of Bethlehem.

5. It was my guide, my light, my all;
It bade my dark forebodings cease;
And through the storm and danger's thrall,
It led me to the port of peace.

6. Now safely, moored, my perils o'er
I'll sing, first in night's diadem,
Forever and forevermore,
The star! The Star of Bethlehem!

First appeared in Baltimore, Maryland, Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1849.

| USA Songs Index | Home Page Robokopp |Home Page Musica|