Fish the Right

Softly and Tenderly

Words: Will L. Thompson · Tune: THOMPSON, Will L. Thompson

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Organ and orchestra: an introduction, then each of the 4 verses. Tap a verse’s number to start there.
  1. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,Calling for you and for me;See, on the portals He's waiting and watching,Watching for you and for me.
    RefrainCome home, come home,Ye who are weary, come home;Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,Calling, O sinner, come home!
  2. Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,Pleading for you and for me?Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,Mercies for you and for me?
    RefrainCome home, come home,Ye who are weary, come home;Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,Calling, O sinner, come home!
  3. Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,Passing from you and from me;Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,Coming for you and for me.
    RefrainCome home, come home,Ye who are weary, come home;Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,Calling, O sinner, come home!
  4. O for the wonderful love He has promised,Promised for you and for me!Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,Pardon for you and for me.
    RefrainCome home, come home,Ye who are weary, come home;Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,Calling, O sinner, come home!

About this hymn

Words
Will L. Thompson, 1880. As printed in The Voice of Praise (1904), no. 171.
Tune
THOMPSON, Will L. Thompson, 1880.
Harmony
Will L. Thompson, 1880. Score from the Christian Classics Ethereal Hymnary. Converted to ABC from the CCEH’s MIDI file and checked note for note against it and its score.
Recordings
Arranged and recorded by Fish the Right, from the harmony above: the melody note for note and every chord the hymnal’s own. Played on the Salamander Grand Piano V3 by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0), with organ, strings, brass and timpani from VSCO 2 Community Edition by Versilian Studios (the organ sampled by Simon Dalzell); drums from Virtuosity Drums and bass from Black And Blue Basses by Versilian Studios and Karoryfer Samples; pads from GeneralUser GS by S. Christian Collins; made with abcMIDI, sfizz, FluidSynth and FFmpeg.
Rights
Words 1880, tune 1880, setting 1880: all published before 1931, so public domain in the United States. Checked: words (hymnary.org), tune (hymnary.org), harmony (ccel.org).