The way is long and dreary

General information

Lyricist: Adelaide Anne Procter

Settings by composers

• Joseph Barnby SATB
• Henry David Leslie SATB
• Josef Rheinberger SATB
• Arthur Sullivan SATB

Texts and Translations

English text

1  The way is long and dreary, The path is bleak and bare; Our feet are worn and weary, But we will not despair; More heavy was Thy burden, More desolate Thy way, O Lamb of God, who takest the sins of the world away, Have mercy upon us, and give us Thy peace.

2  The snows lie thick around us, In the dark and gloomy night; And the tempest wails above us, And the stars have hid their light; But blacker was the darkness Round Calvary's Cross that day, O Lamb of God, who takest the sins of the world away, Have mercy upon us, and give us Thy peace.

3  Our hearts are faint with sorrow, Heavy and sad to bear; For we dread the bitter morrow, But we will not despair; Thou knowest all our anguish, And Thou wilt bid it cease; O Lamb of God, who takest the sins of the world away, Have mercy upon us, and give us Thy peace.