Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

Lyrics byAda R. Habershon music by Charles H. Gabriel 1907 Public Domain

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There are loved ones in the glory, whose dear forms you often miss.

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When you close your earthly story, will you join them in their bliss?

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Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by?

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Is a better home awaiting, in the sky, in the sky?

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In the joyous days of childhood, oft they told of wondrous love,

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Pointed to the dying Savior now the dwell with Him above.

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You remember songs of heaven which you sang with childish voice.

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Do you love the hymns they taught you, or are songs of earth your choice?

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You can picture happy gatherings round the fireside long ago,

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And you think of tearful partings, when they left you here below.

Text: Ada Ruth Habershon    Music: Charles H. Gabriel

Ada Ruth Habershon (1861-1918) was a Christian hymnist, probably best known for her 1907 hymn "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?"

Ada R. Habershon was born in Marylebone, England on Jan­u­a­ry 8, 1861.She was raised in Chelsea, London, in a Christian home. In her twenties, she was a member of the circle surrounding Charles Spurgeon. She met Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey in 1884 during their preaching tour of England. At their urging, she visited the United States, delivering a series of lectures on the Old Testament that were later published.

Habershon's first foray into hymn writing came in 1899, when she wrote several hymns in the German language. She wrote her first English language hymns in 1901, while ill. In 1905, Charles M. Alexander and R. A. Torrey toured the UK, and Alexander asked Habershon to write hymns for use during this evangelistic tour. Habershon ultimately sent Alexander over 200 hymns.

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