The Hymnal for Boys and Girls ‎#28

28. Once More the Liberal Year Laughs Out

1 Once more the liberal year laughs out
O'er richer stores than gems or gold;
Once more, with harvest-song and shout,
Is nature's bloodless triumph told.

2 O favors every year made new!
O blessings with the sunshine sent!
The bounty overruns our due,
The fullness shames our discontent.

3 We shut our eyes, the flowers bloom on;
We murmur, but the corn ears fill;
We choose the shadow, but the sun
That casts it, shines behind us still.

4 Now let these altars, wreathed with flowers
And piled with fruits, awake again
Thanksgiving for the golden hours,
The early and the latter rain.

Amen.

Text Information

• First Line: Once more the liberal year laughs out
• Title: Once More the Liberal Year Laughs Out
• Author: John Greenleaf Whittier
• Meter: L.M.
• Publication Date: 1935
• Topic: Thanksgiving

Tune Information

• Name: MELANESIA
• Composer: S. Smith
• Meter: L.M.
• Key: E Major