Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain

by St. John of Damascus
Trans. J.M. Neale

Come, ye faithful, raise the strain of triumphant gladness;
God hath brought His Israel into joy from sadness;
Loosed from Pharaoh's bitter yoke Jacob's sons and daughters;
Led them with unmoistened foot through the Red Sea waters.

'Tis the spring of souls today; Christ hath burst His prison,
And from three days' sleep in death as a sun hath risen;
All the winter of our sins, long and dark, is flying
From His light, to whom we give laud and praise undying.

Now the queen of seasons, bright with the day of splendor,
With the royal feast of feasts, comes its joy to render;
Comes to glad Jerusalem, who with true affection
Welcomes in unwearied strains Jesus's resurrection.

Neither might the gates of death, nor the tomb's dark portal,
Nor the watchers, nor the seal hold thee as a mortal:
But today amidst the twelve thou didst stand, bestowing
That thy peace, which evermore passeth human knowing.

Alleluia! now we cry to our King immortal,
Who, triumphant, burst the bars of the tomb’s dark portal;
Alleluia! with the Son, God the Father praising,
Alleluia! yet again to the Spirit raising.

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

Attrib. to Arnulf of Leuven
Trans. J.W. Alexander

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish, which once was bright as morn!

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners' gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! 'Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee, Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee and flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish that once was bright as morn!

Now from Thy cheeks has vanished their color once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished the splendor that was there.
Grim death, with cruel rigor, hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor, Thy strength in this sad strife.

My burden in Thy Passion, Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee, wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee; Redeemer, spurn me not!

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

My Shepherd, now receive me; my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me, O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.

Here I will stand beside Thee, from Thee I will not part;
O Savior, do not chide me! When breaks Thy loving heart,
When soul and body languish in death's cold, cruel grasp,
Then, in Thy deepest anguish, Thee in mine arms I'll clasp.

The joy can never be spoken, above all joys beside,
When in Thy body broken I thus with safety hide.
O Lord of Life, desiring Thy glory now to see,
Beside Thy cross expiring, I'd breathe my soul to Thee.

My Savior, be Thou near me when death is at my door;
Then let Thy presence cheer me, forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish, oh, leave me not alone,
But take away mine anguish by virtue of Thine own!

Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.

I'm Against It

by Groucho Marx

I don't know what they have to say
It makes no difference anyway
Whatever it is, I'm against it
No matter what it is or who commenced it
I'm against it

Your proposition may be good
But let's have one thing understood
Whatever it is, I'm against it
And even when you've changed it or condensed it
I'm against it

I'm opposed to it
On general principle, I'm opposed to it

For months before my son was born
I used to yell from night to morn
'Whatever it is, I'm against it!'
And I've kept yelling since I first commenced it
'I'm against it!'

Drowned

by Pete Townshend

There are men high up there fishing
Haven't seen quite enough of the world
I ain't seen a sign of my heroes
And I'm still diving down for pearls

Let me flow into the ocean
Let me get back to the sea
Let me be stormy, let me be calm
Let the tide in and set me free

I'm flowing under bridges
Then flying through the sky
I'm traveling down cold metal
Just a tear in baby's eye

I am not the actor
This can't be the scene
But I am in the water
As far as I can see

I'm remembering distant memories
Recalling other names
Rippling over canyons
And boiling in the train

Let me flow into the ocean
Let me get back to the sea
Let me be stormy and let me be calm
Let the tide in, rush over me

To the Thawing Wind

by Robert Frost

Come with rain, O loud Southwester!
Bring the singer, bring the nester;
Give the buried flower a dream;
Make the settled snow-bank steam;
Find the brown beneath the white;
But whate'er you do to-night,
Bathe my window, make it flow,
Melt it as the ices go;
Melt the glass and leave the sticks
Like a hermit's crucifix;
Burst into my narrow stall;
Swing the picture on the wall;
Run the rattling pages o'er;
Scatter poems on the floor;
Turn the poet out of door.

Life Is a Carnival

by Levon Helm

You can walk on the water
Drown in the sand
You can fly off a mountaintop
If anybody can
Run away, run away
It's the restless age
Look away, look away
You can turn the page

Hey buddy, would you like
To buy a watch real cheap
Here on the street
I got six on each arm and two more round my feet
Life is a carnival
Believe it or not
Life is a carnival
Two bits a shot

Saw a man with the jinx
In the third degree
From trying to deal with people
People you can't see
Take away, take away
This house of mirrors
Give away, give away
All the souvenirs

We're all in the same boat
Ready to float off the edge of the world
The flat old world
The street is a sideshow
From the peddler to the corner girl
Life is a carnival
It's in the book
Life is a carnival
Take another look

Colin Zeal

by Damon Albarn

Colin Zeal knows the value of mass appeal
He's a pedestrian walker, he's a civil talker
He's an affable man with a plausible plan
Keeps his eye on the news, keeps his future in hand

And then he looks at his watch
He's on time yet again
He's pleased with himself
He's so pleased with himself

While sitting in traffic, Colin thinks in automatic
He's an immaculate dresser, he's your common aggressor
He's a modern retard with a love of bombast
Keeps his eye on the news, doesn't dwell on the past

He's a modern retard, he's a terminal lard
He's an affable man with a carotene tan
Because Colin Zeal is ill