The Story of the Hymns and Tunes, page 169 by Theron Brown
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f the "Idyls of the King."
"OH, GALILEE, SWEET GALILEE."
This is the chorus of a charming poem of three stanzas that shaped itself in the mind of Mr. Robert Morris while sitting over the ruins on the traditional site of Capernaum by the Lake of Genneseret.
Each cooing dove, each sighing bough, That makes the eve so blest to me, Has something far diviner now, It bears me back to Galilee.
CHORUS Oh, Galilee, sweet Galilee, Where Jesus loved so much to be; Oh, Galilee, blue Galilee, Come sing thy song again to me.
Robert Morris, LL.D., born Aug. 31, 1818, was a scholar, and an expert in certain scientific subjects, and wrote works on numismatics and the "Poetry of Free Masonry." Commissioned to Palestine in 1868 on historic and archaeological service for the United Order, he explored the scenes of ancient Jewish and Christian life and event in the Holy Land, and being a religious man, followed the Saviour's earthly footsteps with a reverent zeal that left its inspiration with him while he lived. He died in the year 1888, but his Christian ballad secured him a lasting place in every devout memory.
THE TUNE.
The author wrote out his hymn in 1874 and sent it to his friend, the musician, Mr. Horatio R. Palmer,[21] and the latter learned it by heart, and carried it with him in his musings "till it floated out in the melody you know," (to use his own words.)
CHAPTER VII.
OLD REVIVAL HYMNS.
The sober churches of the "Old Thirteen" states and of their successors far into the nineteenth century, sustained evening prayer-meetings more or less commonly, but necessity made them in most cases "cottage meetings" appointed on Sunday and here and there in the scattered homes of country parishes. Their intent was the same as that of "revival meetings," since so called, though the method--and the music--were different. The results in winning sinners, so far as they owed any