“Death, 'Tis a Melancholy Day”

Description

"Death, 'tis a melancholy day For those who have no God, When the poor soul is forced away To seek her last abode." The girl is condemned to Hell; others are warned of it. The singer is glad to be rescued from it.

Notes

In the Sacred Harp, where the text is credited to Isaac Watts (1707) and the tune to H. S. Reed, this is called "Melancholy Day." The Missouri Harmony sets the first verse to the tune "Tribulation."

Roud lumps this with "Death Is a Melancholy Call" [Laws H5], which strikes me as more reasonable than many of his other lumps. But I keep them separate based on Laws. - RBW.

References

1. Randolph 645, "Death, 'Tis a Melancholy Day" (1 text)
2. Roud #655
3. BI, R645