George Washington Doane: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Softly Now the Light of Day

George Washington Doane

“Softly Now the Light of Day” as printed in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920).

George Washington Doane: Collected Lyrics Text 1 1920 · historical text
Public domainHymnSacred song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Army and Navy Hymnal, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

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Softly now the light of day

Fades upon my sight away;

Free from care, from labor free,

Lord, I would commune with thee.

Thou, whose all pervading eye

Naught escapes, without, within,

Pardon each infirmity,

Open fault and secret sin.

Soon, for me, the light of day

Shall for ever pass away;

Then, from sin and sorrow free,

Take me, Lord, to dwell with thee.

Thou who, sinless, yet hast known

All of man's infirmity,

Then, from thine eternal throne,

Jesus, look with pitying eye.

A-MEN.

Credits

Written by George Washington Doane

Words by George Washington Doane. Historical text published in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920), “Softly Now the Light of Day”

The 1920 published edition is in the public domain in the United States (pre-1931 publication). Entries whose credited author died more than 70 years ago are also in the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions; traditional and anonymous entries are public domain. Pages whose scan quality is below the proofread threshold are held for review.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

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Retrieved 2026-10-26. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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