The Masonic Hymn
COME all you freemasons that dwell around the globe,That wear the badge of innocence, I mean the royal robe,Which Noah he did wear when in the ark he stood,When the world was destroyed by a deluging flood.
Noah he was virtuous in the sight of the Lord,He loved a freemason that kept the secret word;For he built the ark, and he planted the first vine,Now his soul in heaven like an angel doth shine.
Once I was blind, and could not see the light,Then up to Jerusalem I took my flight,I was led by the evangelist through a wilderness of care,You may see by the sign and the badge that I wear.
On the 13th rose the ark, let us join hand in hand,For the Lord spake to Moses by water and by land,Unto the pleasant river where by Eden it did rin,And Eve tempted Adam by the serpent of sin.
When I think of Moses it makes me to blush,All on mount Horeb where I saw the burning bush;My shoes I’ll throw off, and my staff I’ll cast away,And I’ll wander like a pilgrim unto my dying day.
When I think of Aaron it makes me to weep,Likewise of the Virgin Mary who lay at our Saviour’s feet;’Twas in the garden of Gethsemane where he had the bloody sweat;Repent, my dearest brethren, before it is too late.
I thought I saw twelve dazzling lights, which put me in surprise,And gazing all around me I heard a dismal noise;The serpent passèd by me which fell unto the ground,With great joy and comfort the secret word I found.
Some say it is lost, but surely it is found,And so is our Saviour, it is known to all around;Search all the Scriptures over, and there it will be shown;The tree that will bear no fruit must be cut down.
Abraham was a man well belovèd by the Lord,He was true to be found in great Jehovah’s word,He stretchèd forth his hand, and took a knife to slay his son,An angel appearing said, The Lord’s will be done!
O, Abraham! O, Abraham! lay no hand upon the lad,He sent him unto thee to make thy heart glad;Thy seed shall increase like stars in the sky,And thy soul into heaven like Gabriel shall fly.
O, never, O, never will I hear an orphan cry,Nor yet a gentle virgin until the day I die;You wandering Jews that travel the wide world round,May knock at the door where truth is to be found.
Often against the Turks and Infidels we fight,To let the wandering world know we’re in the right,For in heaven there’s a lodge, and St. Peter keeps the door,And none can enter in but those that are pure.
St. Peter he opened, and so we entered in,Into the holy seat secure, which is all free from sin;St. Peter he opened, and so we entered there,And the glory of the temple no man can compare.
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
- evangelist n.
- A bringer of the glad tidings of Church and his doctrines.
- eden n.
- The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
- saviour n.
- One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
- repent a.
- Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
- dismal a.
- Fatal; ill-omened; unlucky. [Formerly a noun; e. g., "I trow it was in the dismalle." Chaucer. Of uncertain origin; but perh. (as suggested by Skeat) from OF. disme, F. dîme, tithe, the phr]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Masonic Hymn is in the public domain. This text is taken from Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, Project Gutenberg ebook #649; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Bell, The Masonic Hymn, in Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England (1857), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #649, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bell-ancient-poems/the-masonic-hymn.html, id L11903.
Form and metre
The Masonic Hymn is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 65% of the lines. The metre is iambic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.2 syllables.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic hexameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABB globeA · robeA · stoodB · floodB
- 2 --AA lord · word · vineA · shineA
- 3 AABB lightA · flightA · careB · wearB
- 4 AA-- handA · landA · rin · sin
- 5 --AA blush · bush · awayA · dayA
- 7 --AA surprise · noise · groundA · foundA
- 8 AA-- foundA · aroundA · shown · down
- 9 --AA lord · word · sonA · doneA
- 10 AABB ladA · gladA · skyB · flyB
- 11 AABB cryA · dieA · roundB · foundB
- 12 AA-- fightA · rightA · door · pure
- 13 AABB inA · sinA · thereB · compareB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| COME all you freemasons that dwell around the globe, | 12 | ···//˘······ |
| That wear the badge of innocence, I mean the royal robe, | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| Which Noah he did wear when in the ark he stood, | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| When the world was destroyed by a deluging flood. | 11 | ····˘/··/˘· |
| Noah he was virtuous in the sight of the Lord, | 12 | /˘··/˘······ |
| He loved a freemason that kept the secret word; | 12 | ···//˘···/˘· |
| For he built the ark, and he planted the first vine, | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| Now his soul in heaven like an angel doth shine. | 11 | ····/··/˘·· |
| Once I was blind, and could not see the light, | 10 | ·········· |
| Then up to Jerusalem I took my flight, | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| I was led by the evangelist through a wilderness of care, | 14 | ·····˘/˘··/˘·· |
| You may see by the sign and the badge that I wear. | 12 | ············ |
| On the 13th rose the ark, let us join hand in hand, | 11 | ··········· |
| For the Lord spake to Moses by water and by land, | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| Unto the pleasant river where by Eden it did rin, | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| And Eve tempted Adam by the serpent of sin. | 12 | ··/˘/˘··/˘·· |
| When I think of Moses it makes me to blush, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| All on mount Horeb where I saw the burning bush; | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| My shoes I’ll throw off, and my staff I’ll cast away, | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| And I’ll wander like a pilgrim unto my dying day. | 14 | ··/˘··/˘···/˘· |
| When I think of Aaron it makes me to weep, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Likewise of the Virgin Mary who lay at our Saviour’s feet; | 15 | /···/˘/˘···//˘· |
| ’Twas in the garden of Gethsemane where he had the bloody sweat; | 16 | ···/˘········/˘· |
| Repent, my dearest brethren, before it is too late. | 13 | ˘/·/˘/˘······ |
| I thought I saw twelve dazzling lights, which put me in surprise, | 14 | ·····/˘·····˘/ |
| And gazing all around me I heard a dismal noise; | 13 | ·/˘·······/˘· |
| The serpent passèd by me which fell unto the ground, | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| With great joy and comfort the secret word I found. | 12 | ····/˘·/˘··· |
| Some say it is lost, but surely it is found, | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| And so is our Saviour, it is known to all around; | 13 | ···//˘······· |
| Search all the Scriptures over, and there it will be shown; | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| The tree that will bear no fruit must be cut down. | 11 | ··········· |
| Abraham was a man well belovèd by the Lord, | 12 | /˘·········· |
| He was true to be found in great Jehovah’s word, | 12 | ········˘/˘· |
| He stretchèd forth his hand, and took a knife to slay his son, | 13 | ············· |
| An angel appearing said, The Lord’s will be done! | 12 | ·/˘˘/˘······ |
| O, Abraham! O, Abraham! lay no hand upon the lad, | 15 | ·/˘··/˘········ |
| He sent him unto thee to make thy heart glad; | 11 | ··········· |
| Thy seed shall increase like stars in the sky, | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| And thy soul into heaven like Gabriel shall fly. | 11 | ·····/·/˘·· |
| O, never, O, never will I hear an orphan cry, | 11 | ·/·/····/˘· |
| Nor yet a gentle virgin until the day I die; | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| You wandering Jews that travel the wide world round, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| May knock at the door where truth is to be found. | 11 | ··········· |
| Often against the Turks and Infidels we fight, | 11 | /˘·····/˘·· |
| To let the wandering world know we’re in the right, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| For in heaven there’s a lodge, and St. Peter keeps the door, | 13 | ··/·····/˘··· |
| And none can enter in but those that are pure. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| St. Peter he opened, and so we entered in, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘···/˘· |
| Into the holy seat secure, which is all free from sin; | 14 | ···/˘·˘/······ |
| St. Peter he opened, and so we entered there, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘···/˘· |
| And the glory of the temple no man can compare. | 13 | ··/˘··/˘···˘/ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.