O Watchman, Watchman, tell me what you see,
Tell me what clarion call has stirred your blood;
Long, long this night has been, and long have we
In darkness struggled ‘gainst the whelming flood.
O tell me we’ll at last see morning break,
At last proclaim the rightful King draws near;
I long to hear the cry, “Awake! Awake!”
I long to taste and touch our Triumph dear.
O let our weary lips now raise the song
That we at last may doff our battledress;
So many times we’ve cried, “O Lord, how long?”
As we for Dayspring yearned in great distress.
O may our wait be o’er, our battle done,
Our hope fulfilled in final victory;
Glad tidings I have heard of rising sun—
O Watchman, Watchman, tell me what you see!