River Sofia
Alleluia! Christ Is Risen Today
by John Henry, Jr. Hopkins
1. Alleluia! Christ is risen today From the tomb in the garden where-
2. See the stream-let burst its icy chain! Leaping out into sunlight it
in he lay; Shining angels raise their shout on high, And on
seeks the plain, And its joy in liquid tones it tells To the
earth we exultingly make reply:
Alleluia, Alle-
rocks and the woods and the winding dells:
Alleluia, Alle-
luia, Alleluia, Amen.
Nature too, that, through long
Giant pines, whose broad, up
luia, Alleluia, Amen.
dreary gloom, Lay embalmed in the shroud of her wintry tomb, Rises
reaching arms Bore the frosts and the snows of the northern storms, To the
now to meet her rising Lord, And in myriad echo re-
balmy breezes blowing now Give a murmuring whisper on
peats the word: ev’ry bough:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
3. Little birds, that flew so far away,
Now return with a sweet, merry roundelay;
Through the shady grove, in soft refrain,
Lo, the voice of the turtle is heard again:
In the old church-tower the swallows build,
And their nests with the tenderest young are filled;
And they join the chaunting when they hear
Both the organ and choir swelling loud and clear:
4. Now the primrose greets the daffodil,
And the daisy is winking on every hill,
And the pansy drinks the light of day,
And the breath of the violet seems to say:
(4) Now the Rose of Sharon opens wide,
On the sunshiny banks of the mountain side;
And the lily of the valley blooms,
Filling every vale with its rich perfumes:
5. While the fields are clothed in beauty rare,
Shall the altar of Jesus be cold and bare!
Shall the church no loving token show
That the Risen above is to rise below!
Round the altar let bright flowers be seen,
With the fresh-budding branches of evergreen;
Let the earth, with us, her incense bring,
And the trees of the forest rejoice and sing:
