"How Can I Keep From Singing?" was written in 1860 by Robert Lowry, a Baptist minister who pastored in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Lowry wrote the lyrics to such well-known hymns as "Shall We Gather at the River?" "Christ Arose," and "Nothing But the Blood," as well the sentimental song "Where Is My Boy Tonight?"
How Can I Keep From Singing?
My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth’s lamentation
I hear the sweet though far off hymn
That hails a new creation:
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?
What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Savior liveth;
What though the darkness gather round!
Songs in the night He giveth:
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of Heav’n and earth,
How can I keep from singing?
I lift mine eyes; the cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smoothes
Since first I learned to love it:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing:
All things are mine since I am His—
How can I keep from singing?