360. There is beauty all around
John H. McNaughton, 1863
A tender lyric in praise of the home where love dwells. Especially fine are the lines,
All the earth is filled with love
When there’s love at home,
for it recognizes the wide influence of the home, the primary social institution where the first lessons of the Christian life are learned. A nation’s peace and prosperity is rooted in the quality of life found in its homes.
The words and music are by John Hugh McNaughton, who was born 1829, in Caledonia, N. Y., of Scottish parentage. His lyrics have some literary qualities and Henry W. Longfellow once wrote to McNaughton: “Your poems have touched me very much.” He composed many popular songs, including “The Blue and the Gray,” and “Faded Coat of Blue,” which sold by the hundreds of thousands of copies. He is the author of a Treatise on Music and Onnalinda, a metrical romance.