Songs of Friendship
To Wilson M. Tylor
Read at the Closing Meeting of the Alpha Class of Marshall Seminary
Listen, O my friends and neighbors,
To the story I shall tell you,
To the story, to the legend,
Of this school and of its teachers.
To the story I shall tell you,
To the story, to the legend,
Of this school and of its teachers.
Years ago when we were younger,
Men and women came together,
Came together to consult there
How to lead us, how to teach us,
Teach us in the ways of Wisdom,
For 'tis better than gold treasures.
Men and women came together,
Came together to consult there
How to lead us, how to teach us,
Teach us in the ways of Wisdom,
For 'tis better than gold treasures.
Gold allures, but never knowledge;
Get you knowledge, keep it, hold it,
Wear it as a necklace on you,
For with use it gleams and brightens.
Get you knowledge, keep it, hold it,
Wear it as a necklace on you,
For with use it gleams and brightens.
Teachers came and teachers left us,
Came from city, came from country,
Came to lead us, came to guide us,
Came with clear and good intention,
Hands and hearts as willing workers,
And this vineyard, rocky, barren,
Blossoms as the summer roses.
Came from city, came from country,
Came to lead us, came to guide us,
Came with clear and good intention,
Hands and hearts as willing workers,
And this vineyard, rocky, barren,
Blossoms as the summer roses.
In the bright days of September,
When the air was warm and fragrant,
When the forests change their plumage
To the colors of the rainbow,
Colors vying with the artist's,
Artist human cannot equal
All the beauty there depicted.
When the air was warm and fragrant,
When the forests change their plumage
To the colors of the rainbow,
Colors vying with the artist's,
Artist human cannot equal
All the beauty there depicted.
In these days of Autumn splendor,
Came one from a sunny climate.
From the swallow and the red-wing,
Land of sunshine, land of blossoms,
Not like prairie flowers scentless,
But perfumed like holy incense.
Came one from a sunny climate.
From the swallow and the red-wing,
Land of sunshine, land of blossoms,
Not like prairie flowers scentless,
But perfumed like holy incense.
Since he came we learned to love him,
Love him for his manly virtues,
For his kindness to us reaches
In our schooldays, in our labors,
Toiling on the road to knowledge,
Weary-worn and heavy-laden.
Love him for his manly virtues,
For his kindness to us reaches
In our schooldays, in our labors,
Toiling on the road to knowledge,
Weary-worn and heavy-laden.
19
