EVERY SON MUST RISE ABOUVE HIS FATHER
R. P. Tristram Coffin
Solo 1: No river ever rises
Higher than its source—
That’s the
All: We break the law of course.
Our law is a new one:
Solo 1: Every father’s son
Must rise above his father
Before his days are done.
All: Must go up head and shoulders,
See more than he saw,
Solo 1: Be better than his father,
All: That’s the unbreakable law.
Solo 1: The plumber leads his little
Son by his rough hand,
All: Proud to lead a lawyer
And governor of the land.
Solo 1: The farmer trots a poet
On his big gnarled knee,
All: Glad to bear more living
Than the wheat can be.
Solo 1: The carpenter builds a dwelling,
His son plays in the chips,
All: But he knows his small one
Will build great books or ships.
Solo 1: We live in our children,
We train young feet to go
Up hills we dare not dream of
All: So