Canaan’s Fair Shore

Provided by: June Marshall (Portadown) and Gordon Steel (Glasgow)
Source: “Sacred Scotch Solos" by Alexander Halliday
Date: Circa 1920?
Tune: Be kind tae the auld folks
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Time’s slippin’ quickly by, and we’re slippin’ tae
But whaur are ye gaun? may I ask;
There’s twa roads before ye, whit’s your end that’s in view?
Is it aye lastin’ blessin’ or blast?
For here there’s nae abidin’, we a’ maun be gaun
Like the fleeting winds, Time dings us through
An’ sune at the river o’ cauld daith we maun staun’
Wha’s your frien’ that will then tak’ ye through?

Chorus:
Ah, but here’s a Frien’, and He’s dearer to me
Than this warl’, aye, an’ a’ its galore
It is Jesus o’ Nazareth, wha’ll never leave me
Till He tak’s me tae Canaan’s fair shore

Noo, jist think again on the love God must ha’en
For puir sinners, just like you and me,
When He gien up His dear Son tae dee on the cross
For sin-guilty rebels like me
It wisna nails that held Jesus, tho’ He hung on the cross
It was God’s love for you and me
As He poured oot His life’s blood, “Tis finished,” He cried
“Whasoever believeth” gangs free

Chorus:
Is that no a Frien’, and He’s dearer to me
Than this warl’, aye, an’ a’ its galore
It is Jesus o’ Nazareth, wha’ll never leave me
Till he tak’s me tae Canaan’s fair shore

Sae I’ve been at the cross, an’ I’ve pardon received
An’ noo I’m on my straucht road for hame
An’ tho’ foes may assail me, He’s aye by my side
For to cheer me in sorrow or pain
Tho’ trials may trip me along by the way
An’ clouds seem tae hang aboot me
Man, I aye get a lift when I mind whit He says
There’s a rest owre in Canaan for me

Chorus:
That’s the right Frien’, and He’s dearer to me
Than this warl’, aye, an’ a’ its galore
It is Jesus o’ Nazareth, wha’ll never leave me
Till He tak’s me tae Canaan’s fair shore

When my race it is run and the battle is won
Then Jesus Himsel’ will tak’ me
Awa’ owre tae Canaan, the land o’ the blest
Whaur nae sorrows nor trials wull be
There we’ll meet loved anes we lo’ed here sae weel
There faces we fondly wull see
Ah, but, friens, will I meet ye on yon evergreen shore
Whaur jots everlastin’ shall be?

Chorus:
Sae come tae this Frien’, and He’s dearer to me
Than this warl’, aye, an’ a’ its galore
It is Jesus o’ Nazareth, wha’ll never leave me
Till He tak’s me tae Canaan’s fair shore