Classic Poem

‘Sing from the chamber to the grave!’
Thus did the dead man say:
‘A sound of melody I crave,
Upon my burial-day.

‘Bring forth some tuneful instrument,
And let your voices rise:
My spirit listened, as it went,
To music of the skies.

‘Sing sweetly while you travel on,
And keep the funeral slow:—
The angels sing where I am gone,
And you should sing below.

‘Sing from the threshold to the porch,
Until you hear the bell;
And sing you loudly in the church,
The Psalms I love so well.

‘Then bear me gently to my grave,
And as you pass along,
Remember, 'twas my wish to have
A pleasant funeral song.

‘So earth to earth, and dust to dust!
And though my flesh decay,
My soul shall sing among the just
Until the Judgment-day.’