Morning Song

Morning Song, from the shape-note tradition, is frequently used for the lovely hymn, "The King Shall Come when Morning Dawns" . The hymn-tune may have been composed by Elkanah Kelsay Dare, a Methodist minister. Since the text speaks of the Nativity and the Second Coming, it is often sung during the Season of Advent. Sheet music available at https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/morning-song-digital-sheet-music/21859337

"The King shall come when morning dawns,
And light triumphant breaks;
When beauty gilds the eastern hills,
And life to joy awakes.
Not as of old, a little child
To bear, and fight, and die,
But crowned with glory like the sun,
That gilds that morning sky
O, brighter than the rising morn,
When He, victorious rose,
And left the lonesome place of death,
Despite the rage of foes;—
O brighter than that glorious morn
Shall this fair morning be,
When Christ, our King, in beauty comes,
And we his face shall see."