quote · Legacy record
There was never a song that was sung by thee, But a sweeter one was meant to be. There was never a deed that was grandly done, But a greater was meant by some earnest one. For the sweetest voice can never impart The song that trembles within the heart. And the brain and the hand can never quite do The thing that the soul has fondly in view. And hence are the tears and the burdens of pain, For the shining goals are never to gain But enough that a God can hear and see The song and the deed that were meant to be.
There was never a song that was sung by thee, But a sweeter one was meant to be. There was never a deed that was grandly done, But a greater was meant by some earnest one. For the sweetest voice can never impart The song that trembles within the heart. And the brain and the hand can never quite do The thing that the soul has fondly in view. And hence are the tears and the burdens of pain, For the shining goals are never to gain But enough that a God can hear and see The song and the deed that were meant to be.
In print by 1911 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Benjamin R. Bulkeley
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1911 AD · modern
In print by 1911: recorded in The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911) (1911 AD)
Complete signed selection 398; printed byline: Benjamin R. Bulkeley; Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911; printed copyright 1907
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.