There's all of pleasure and all of peaceTop
In a friend or two;
And all your troubles may find release
With a friend or two;
It's in the grip of the clasping hand
On native soil or in alien land,
But the world is made- do you understand?
Of a friend or two.A song to sing and a crust to share
With a friend or two;
A smile to give and a grief to bear
With a friend or two;
A road to walk and a goal to win,
An inglenook to find comfort in,
The gladdest hours that we know, begin
With a friend or two.A little laughter; perhaps some tears
With a friend or two;
The days, the weeks, the months and years
With a friend or two;
A vale to cross, a hill to climb,
A mock at age, and a jeer at time-
The prose of life takes the lilt of rhyme
With a friend or two.The brother-sound the brother-heart
Of a friend or two
Makes us drift on from the crowd apart,
With a friend or two!
For come days happy or come days sad
We count no hours but the ones made glad
By the hale good times we ever had
With a friend or two.Then brim the goblet and quaff the toast
To a friend or two,
For glad the man who can always boast
Of a friend or two.
The fairest sight is a friendly face,
The blithest tread is a friendly pace,
And heaven will be a better place
For a friend or two.
The world may rail at Masonry,Top
And scoff at Square and Line,
We'll follow with complacency
The Master's great Design.A King can make a gartered Knight,
And breathe away another,
But he, with all his skill and might,
Can never make a Brother.This power alone, thou Mystic Art,
Freemasonry, is thine;
The power to tame the savage heart
With brother-love divine!
Where is a destiny that makes us Brothers;Top
None goes his way alone;
All that we send into the lives of others
Come back to our own.I care not what his temple or creeds,
One thing hold firm and fast-
That into his fateful heap of days and deeds
The soul of man is cast.
My Brother, Masonry means moreTop
Than just to wear a pin,
Or carrying a dues receipt
So the Lodge will let you in.
You wear an emblem on your coat,
And on your hand a ring.
But, if you're not sincere at heart,
This doesn't mean a thing.
It's just an outward sign to show
The world that you belong
To this Fraternal Brotherhood
That teaches right from wrong.
What really counts lies buried deep
Within the human breast;
Masonic teaching brings it out
And puts it to the test.
If you can do outside the Lodge
The things you learn within,
Be just and upright to yourself
And to your fellow men;
Console a brother when he's sick,
Or help him when in need.
Without a thought of a reward
For any act or deed;
Conduct yourself in such a way
The world without can see
None but the best can meet the test
Laid down by Masonry;
Respect and live up to your trust
And do the best you can;
Then you can tell the world you are
A Mason and a Man!
The crest and crowning of all good,Top
Life's final star, is Brotherhood;
For it will bring again to earth
Her long-lost Poesy and Mirth;
Will send new light on every face,
A kingly power upon the race.
And till it comes, we men are slaves,
And travel downward to the dust of graves.Come, clear the way, then, clear the way:
Blind creeds and kings have had their day.
Break the dead branches from the path:
Our hope is in the aftermath-
Our hope is in heroic men,
Star-led to build the world again.
To this event the ages ran:
Make way for Brotherhood- make way for Man!
Sometimes we hardly know its there,Top
Our guiding cabletow;
If we go down the paths of right,
Its hold we never know;
But if we start the way that's wrong,
It has a sudden way that's strong,
And makes us heed its strength to lead
Down paths we ought to go.And yet how good a thing to feel,
How fine a thing to know,
Then when the baser actions seek
To wreck and overthrow,
When worldly appetites deprave,
Or lower passions would enslave,
We can feel, like gripping steel,
Our guiding cabletow.
'Twould never do for God to live across the street,Top
Or in the house next door, where we should daily meet;
So in His wisdom and His love he sometimes sends
His angels kind to walk with us- we call them "friends."Just friends- one word! But letters can express
A wealth of sympathy and pure unselfishness.
One syllable- a single breath can form it- friends,
Yet O how much our happiness on them depends.When trouble comes, or loss, when grief is ours to bear,
They come, our friends, with words of cheer, our load to share.
How could we face defeat without a friend's caress?
Had we no friend to praise, how bare would be success!A friend will never doubt, though foes may vilify,
Nor is there need, with him, the falsehood to deny,
And should we go astray or guilt our fair fame kill,
Though conscious of our faults, forgive and love us still.'Tis not God's plan that we shall see Him face to face,
Yet He would hedge us in with His bounding grace;
And so His messengers of love to earth He sends.
They're angels, but we know it not, and call them "friends."
Tell me now, my Brother,Top
What came you here to do?
When you joined our mystic circle,
Had you a purpose in your heart
To be of service to your fellow man
And perform your allotted part,
Or came you out of curiosity
Or motive personal in view?
Tell me, Brother of the square
What came you here to do?
Have you studied well the meaning
Of the symbols on our chart?
And learned to subdue your passions
And make improvements in your art?
Do you uphold the trusts
On which we firmly stand,
Teaching the fatherhood of God
And the brotherhood of man?
Have you willingly aided the brother
When life surges were fierce and wild?
Have you offered cheer and comfort
To the Mason's wife, widow and child?
If you have done so, my brother,
You are a Mason good and true,
And can give a correct answer to
"What came you here to do?"
If no one smiled and no one cheeredTop
And no one helped us along,
If each every moment took care of itself
And good things went to the strong,
If nobody cared just a little for you
And nobody thought about me,
And we stood alone in the battle of life,
What a dreary old world it would be.
Life is sweet just because of the friends we have made
And things in common which we share.
We want to live on, not because of ourselves,
But because of the people who care.
Its giving and doing for somebody else-
On that all life's splendor depends
And the joy of this world, when you've summed it all up,
Is found in the making of friends.
Are you an active memberTop
the kind that would be missed
or are you just contented
that your name is on the list?Do you attend the meetings
and mingle with the flock
or do you stay at home
and criticize and knock?Do you take an active part
to help the work along
are you satisfied to be
the kind that "JUST BELONG"?Do you ever go and visit
a member that is sick
or leave the work to a few
and talk about the clique?Think this over, member,
you know right from wrong
are you an active member
or do you "JUST BELONG"?
Joyful task it is, dear brothersTop
Thus to take upon the lip
With full heart, and fitting gesture,
All our points of fellowship.
Foot and knee, breast, hand, and cheek
Each a measured part shall speak:
Speak of answering mercy's call;
Speak of prayer for Mason's all;
Speak of keeping secrets duly;
Speak of stretching strong hand truly;
Speak of whispering the unruly.Foot to foot: 'tis Mercy's mandate,
When is heard the plaintive sigh,
Hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked,
On the wings of aid to fly;
Hasten, mitigate the grief --
Hasten, bear him quick relief!
Quick with bread to feed the hungry;
Quick with raiment for the naked;
Quick with shelter for the homeless;
Quick with heart's deep sympathy.Knee to knee: in silence praying,
Lord, give listening ear that day!
Every earthly stain confessing,
For all tempted Masons pray!
Perish envy, perish hate,
For all Masons supplicate.
Bless them, Lord upon the ocean;
Bless them perishing in the desert;
Bless them falling 'neath temptation;
Bless them when about to die!Breast to breast: in holy casket
At life's center strongly held,
Every sacred thing entrusted,
Sealed by faith's unbroken seal;
What you promised God to shield
Suffer, die, but never yield.
Never yield whate'er the trial;
Never yield whate'er the number;
Never yield though foully threatened,
Even at the stroke of death.Hand to back: A brother falling --
His misfortune is too great,
Stretch the generous hand, sustain him,
Quick, before it is too late.
Like a strong, unfaltering prop,
Hold the faltering brother up.
Hold him up; stand like a column;
Hold him up; there's good stuff in him;
Hold him with his head toward heaven;
Hold him with the lion's grip.Cheek to cheek: O, when the tempter
Comes, a brother's soul to win,
With a timely whisper warn him
Of the dark and deadly sin.
Extricate him from the snare,
Save him with fraternal care.
Save him -- heavenly powers invoke you --
Save him -- man is worth the saving
Save him -- breathe your spirit in him
As you'd have your God save you.This completes the obligation;
Brothers, lest you let it slip,
Fasten on tenacious memory
All our points of Fellowship;
Foot and knee, breast, hand, and cheek --
Foot and knee, breast, hand, and cheek.
When kings and potentates oppress the souls of men,Top
And men's toil brings no bounty or reward within,
Man's heart within his breast beats to be free
To experience his rights guaranteed by his deity.Noble men of passion for the God-given liberty
Commit all that they have received most willingly.
Soldiers, clad in coats of red, rise up to pillage and burn,
Making men's hearts, for freedom, forever to yearn.Pleading words of reason, most eloquently written,
Fell on deaf ears, and their authors were smitten.
Every word and every deed issued by noble men
Only served to increase their perils way back then.A loud cry went up and a shot was heard;
Man's quest of liberty would not be deterred.
Liberty would be born, not of noble birth,
But by sweat, tears and blood of great worth.Who were these great and gallant men of old
Whose story has seldom completely been told?
Farmer, clergy, lawyer, merchant, and judge,
Committed to the way they would trudge.Teachers, doctors, and a writer of words
Would put together the document to be heard.
Workers of iron, printers, soldiers, and engineers
Set aside their wealth, their goals and fears.From their gallant veins, their blood did pour,
Though man's quest for liberty would ne'er be o'er.
Who were these men of such significant worth?
Forty-seven of domestic and nine of foreign birth.At what point did these men find common light
To shield the soul against the bitter night?
To what charge would their gallant souls hasten?
It was the God-given light of the Master mason.Still, many are there who would defame this rite,
Expecting them to withdraw silently into the night.
But their work has never been for wealth of fame,
Nor for the beautiful words of earthly acclaim.These are the ones upon whom you can depend,
To rise up against oppression and liberty to defend.
Faithful to freedom's labor with every breath
Until, in God's holy time, there noble eyes close in death.
"Let there be light." Jehovah said,Top
And primal darkness heard and fled;
Then, as the waters from the land;
He parted with almighty hand;
Light ridged the mountain chain with gold;
Light through the vales in glory rolled;
Light silvered ocean, lake and stream;
Light made the pall-like vapors gleam;
Light shone the forest vistas through;
Light gave the sky it's burning blue;
Light fell in life-awakening showers;
On torpid leaves and sleeping flowers;
And all the universe waxed bright
Robed in it's makers effluence-light.
There is a darkness of the mind;
As thick as dark, as undefined;
Ere God had said, " Let there be light."
But as creations morning burst;
On chaos, and the gloom dispersed;
So does the " Day star from on high."
Light to the darkened soul supply;
As that which wrapped the world in night;
So does God's grace, that ray divine;
On the beseeching sinner shine;
Dispelling from the soul despair;
And shedding floods of glory there;
Oh, when there's doubt and gloom within;
Black fruits of unrepented sin;
Search thou this book, and searching pray;
So shall thy sin be washed away;
So shall a beam illuminate thy night;
From him who said, " Let there be light."
Brother, kneel before the altar,Top
In silence grave.
Show no weakness. Do not falter
Like Cowan knave.
Honest brethren stand around you,
With heart and hand,
Ready to encourage, aid you,
A noble band.
Here you need not fear deception --
All are true --
Every brother here assembled
Knelt like you.
With throbbing hearts they silent listen
To your voice,
As you tell in earnest whisper,
Your free choice.
Gently loose the new made brother
From his cord,
He is bound by stronger fetters,
On God's Word.
Hearken to the Master's language:
"Pray for Light,"
Responsive voices chant the echo:
"Let there be Light."
Welcome, brother, to our household,
You are Free;
May it ever prove a blessing
Unto thee.
What man soe'er I chance to see --Top
Amazing thought -- is kin to me,
And if a man, my brother.What though in silken raiment fine
His form be clad, while naked mine;
He is a man, my brother.What though with flashing chariot wheel
He spurn my cry, nor pity feel;
He is a man, my brother.What though he sit in regal state
And for an empire legislate,
He is a man, my brother.What though he grovel at my feet,
Spurned by the rabble of the street;
He is a man, my brother.What though his hand with crime be red,
His heart a stone, his conscience dead;
He is a man, my brother.And when we pass upon the street,
It is my brother that I meet;
Alas, alas, my brother!Though low his life, and black his heart,
There is a nobler, deathless part
Within this man, my brother.The soul which this frail clay enfolds
The image of his Maker holds --
That makes this man my brother.Though dimly there that image shine,
It marks the soul a thing divine,
A child of God, my brother.For him the spotless Son of God
The Perfect man, our pathway trod,
To show Himself our Brother.Nor walks the earth so vile a wretch
But down to him that love doth stretch,
As to an only brother.Though deep the abyss with darkness lower,
'Tis but the measure of His power
Who thence will raise my brother.A Savior to the uttermost,
He will not see His brother lost,
Nigh ruined, yet his brother.
I do not ask, my friend, if youTop
Were born a Gentile or a Jew,
A Buddhist, or Mohammedan:
I only ask, are you a man?It matters not, my friend, to me
If you are black as black can be,
Or colored red, or brown, or tan:
I ask but this, are you a man?I care not, brother, whence you came,
Nor do I seek to know your name,
Your race, religion, creed or clan:
I want to know if you're a man.I care not if you're homely quite,
Or handsome as an angle bright,
If you, throughout your little span,
Have only shown yourself a man.I think that most men think like that:
They hate a weakling, loathe a rat;
They've always liked, since time began,
One who is first and last a man.
Foot to foot, that we may go,Top
Where our help we can bestow;
Pointing out the better way,
Lest our brothers go astray.
Thus our steps should always lead
To the souls that are in need.Knee to knee, that we may share
Every brother's needs in prayer:
Giving all his wants a place,
When we seek the throne of grace.
In our thoughts from day to day
For each other we should pray.Breast to breast, to there conceal,
What our lips must not reveal;
When a brother does confide,
We must by his will abide.
Mason's secrets to us known,
We must cherish as our own.Hand to back, our love to show
To the brother, bending low:
Underneath a load of care,
Which we may and ought to share.
That the weak may always stand,
Let us lend a helping hand.Cheek to cheek, or mouth to ear,
That our lips may whisper cheer,
To our brother in distress:
Whom our words can aid and bless.
Warn him if he fails to see,
Dangers that are known to thee.Foot to foot, and knee to knee,
Breast to breast, as brothers we:
Hand to back and mouth to ear,
Then that mystic word we hear
Which we otherwise conceal,
But on these five points reveal.
Forget the hasty, unkind word:Top
Forget the slander you have heard;
Forget the quarrel and the cause;
Forget the whole affair, because,
Forgetting is the only way.
Forget the storm of yesterday;
Forget the knocker, and the squeak;
Forget the bad day of the week.
Forget you're not a millionaire;
Forget the gray streaks in your hair;
Forget to even get the blues -
But don't forget
To Pay Your Dues!
Give me your hand;Top
You are rich; I am poor;
Your wealth is your power, and by it you tread
A wide open path; where for me is a door
That is locked; and before it are worry and dread.
We are sundered, are we,
As two men can be
But we are two brothers in Freemasonry
So give me your hand.Give me your hand;
You are great; I'm unknown;
You travel with a permanent fame;
I go on a way unlauded, alone,
With hardly a man to hear of my name:
We are sundered, are we,
As two men can be
But we are two brothers in Freemasonry
So give me your hand.Give me your hand;
You are old; I am young;
The years in your heart their wisdom have sown;
But knowledge speaks not by my faltering tongue,
And small in the wisdom I claim as my own:
We are sundered, are we,
As two men can be
But we are two brothers in Freemasonry
So give me your hand.
One Lone StarTop
on a Field of Blue
stands for the Brotherhood
between Me and You.The strip of Red
for the Blood they shed
in Brotherhood so true.The strip of White
for the Right and Might
this Brotherhood new.Under the Red, White and Blue
How this Brotherhood grew
and it's all for Me and You.Now when We see that
One Lone Star
We pray we can be as they are.
Ho, Brother, it's the handclasp and the good word and the smileTop
That does the most and helps the most to make the world worth while!
It's all of us together, or it's only you and I --
A ringing song of friendship, and the heart beats high;
A ringing song of friendship, and a word or two of cheer!
Then all the world is gladder and the bending shy is clear!It's you and I together -- and we're brothers one and all
When even through good fellowship we hear the subtle call,
Whenever in the ruck of things we feel the helping hand
or see the deeper glow that none but we may understand --
Then all the world is good to us and all is worth the while;
Ho, brother, it's the handclasp and the good word and the smile!
Foot to foot, no matter where,Top
Though far beyond my destined road,
If Brother needs a Brother's care,
On foot I'll go and share his load.Knee to knee, no selfish prayer
Shall ever from my lips ascend,
For all who act upon the square,
At least, henceforth, my knee shall bend.Breast to breast, and this I swear,
A Brother's secrets here shall sleep,
If told to me upon the square,
Save those I am not bound to keep.Hand to back, Oh type of love!
Fit emblem to adorn the skies,
Be this our task below, above
To help poor falling mortals rise.Cheek to cheek, or mouth to ear,
"We all like sheep have gone astray,"
May we good counsel give and bear,
'Til each shall find the better way.
Last night I knelt where Hiram kneltTop
And took an obligation.
Today I'm closer to my God
And I'm a Master Mason.Tho' heretofore my fellow men
Seemed each one like the other,
Today I search each one apart'
"I'm looking for my Brother."And, as I feel his friendly grip,
It fills my heart with pride;
I know that while I'm on the square,
That he is on my side.His footsteps on my errand go
If I should such require;
His prayers will plead in my behalf
If I should so desire.My words are safe within his breast
As though within my own;
His hand forever at my back
To help me safely home.Good counsel whispers in my ear
And warns of any danger;
By Square and Compass, Brother now!
Who once would call me stranger.I might have lived a moral life
And risen to distinctions
Without my brother's helping hand
And fellowship of Masons.But God, who knows how hard it is
To resist life's temptations,
Knows why I knelt where Hiram knelt
And took that obligation.
The world is needing you and me,Top
In places where we ought to be;
Somewhere today it's needing you
To stand for what you know is true.
And needing me somewhere today.
To keep the faith, let come what may.The world needs honest men today
To lead its youth along the way,
Men who will write in all their deeds
The beauty of their spoken creeds,
And spurn advantage here and gain,
On which deceit must leave its stain.The world needs men who will not brag,
Men who will honor Freedom's Flag,
Men, who although the way is hard,
Against the lure of shame will guard,
The world needs gentle men and true
And calls aloud to me and you.The world needs men of lofty aim,
Not merely men of skill and fame,
Not merely leaders wise and grave,
Or learned men or soldiers brave,
But men whose lives are fair to see,
Such men as you and I can be.
Come, let us prepare,Top
We brothers that are
Met together on merry Occasion;
Let us drink, laugh and sing,
Our Wine has a Spring,
'Tis a Health to an Accepted Mason.The World is in Pain
Our Secret to gain,
But still let them wonder and gaze on;
Till they're shown the Light
They'll ne'er know the right
Word or Sign of an Accepted Mason.'Tis This and 'tis That,
They cannot tell what,
Why so many great Men in the Nation
Should Aprons put on,
To make themselves one
With a Free or an Accepted Mason.Great Kings, Dukes and Lords,
Have laid by their Swords,
This our Myst'ry to put a good Grace on,
And ne'er been asham'd
To hear themselves nam'd
With a Free or an Accepted Mason.Antiquity's Pride
We have on our side,
It makes a Man Just in his Station;
There's naught but what's Good
To be understood
By a Free or an Accepted Mason.Then Join Hand in Hand,
T'ach other firm stand,
Let's be merry, and put a bright Face on;
What Mortal can boast
So noble a Toast,
As a Free or an Accepted Mason.
Dusty old helmet, rusty old gun, they sit in the corner and wait.Top
Two souvenirs of the Second World War that have withstood the time and the hate.
Many times I've wanted to ask them, and now that we're here all alone,
Relics all three of a long ago war. "Where has freedom gone?"
Mute witness to a time of much trouble, where kill or be killed was the law.
"Were these implements used with high honor? What was the glory they saw?"
Freedom flies in your heart like an eagle, let it soar with the high winds above,
Among the spirits of soldiers now sleeping, guard it with care and with love.
I salute my old friends in the corner, I agree with all they have said,
And if the moment of truth comes tomorrow, I'll be free, or I'll be dead.