BETA

The Age of Harmony.

by William Thomson.

Tune—Banks o’ the Dee.

O sweet is the clear warbling song of the wild wood, 1
And sweet is the hum of the wee mountain bee ;2
O sweet is the playful endearment of childhood,3
And the smile of the babe on its ain mother’s knee ;4
O sweet is the breath of the wood-blossomed bowers,5
And the hills and the vales a’ bespangled wi’ flowers,6
And the green corn fields-wet wi’ summer’s soft showers7
For nature’s a system of kind harmony.8
Weil, weil might we glide through this lovely green
world,9
Like a smooth rinning stream in a fair flow’ry lawn,10
Were the banners of love o’er the wide earth unfurl’d;11
And man but the kind hearted brither o’ man,12
And O may the time soon arrive when affection13
To justice and truth, shall guide a human action,14
And when men o’ each kingdom, and creed, and
complexion,15
Shall join in ae system o’ kind harmony.16
O yes, may the time soon arrive when fu’ cheery,17
Blest virtue shall over the universe reign,18
And truth maun prevail for the world is weary,19
Of bloodshed and ruin, and error and pain,20
And pride and oppression, and whitely fac’d famine,21
And care worn toil, and ambition’s vain dreamin,’22
And war, doolfu’ war, like a blood-thirsty demon,23
Nae mair shall invade nature’s kind harmony.24
Like the bees o’ the simmer, we’ve wrought unco
eidant,25
And the fruit o° our toil is enough for us a’ ;26
For to be independant, we’ve aye had a pride in’t,27
But the meikle fat drones steal our honey awa ;28
The drones on our toil, and the drones o’ retailin’,29
The drones o’ the law, and 0’ a’ kinds o’ dealin’,30
The drones o’ the kirk, and the state, and the mailin’,31
Are the drones that hae stown a’ our honey awa.32
But we live in an age that is great and eventfu’,33
And a far brighter day is beginning to dawn,34
When rewarded we’ll be for the ill times we’ve kent a’,35
As freedom will shower down her blessings on man ;36
Then nae langer we’ll pay for the things we’ve nae faith
in37
And thousands o’ thae lazy chaps that. dae naethin’,38
Will just hae to work for their ain meet and claithin’,39
And join in ae system of kind harmony.40