We hardly needed singin’ books in them old days: we knew
The words, the tunes, of every one, the dear old hymn book through!
We had no blaring trumpets then, no organs built for show;
We only sang to praise the Lord, “from whom all blessings flow.”
An’ so I love the dear old hymns, and when my time shall come—
Before the light has left me and my singing lips are dumb—
If I can only hear ’em then, I’ll pass, without a sigh,
“To Canaan’s fair and happy land, where my possessions lie!”
—Frank L. Stanton in The Atlanta Constitution