The winds of heaven are sweeping free,
They come and go at God's decree;
Suns and bright worlds are lit on high
To gild the dusky evening sky;
Streamlets unceasing wander on
In silvery light beneath the sun;
Clouds free in space forever roll,
And only yield to Heaven's control;
Old Ocean's everlasting tide
Has rolled its chainless billows wide,
Since first the firmament on high
From chaos rose a beauteous sky,
Sending forth one eternal chime--
This sacred truth, to latest time:
He who the heavens holds with a span,
Gave Freedom's rights to every man! The very air with music rings;
'Tis Freedom's harp with million strings;
Melodious birds are soaring blest--
They woo, and sing, and build their nest,
And, knit in love, their nestlings raise,
To fill the air with Freedom's lays.
Blossoms expand and scent the air;
Insects and flowers no fetters wear;
The sun, impartial, scatters light,
All Nature warms, and cheers the sight;
The dew refreshes leaf and flower,
Each drinks its sweets at midnight hour;
And waving buds and nodding bells
Assent to truth all Nature tells:
He who the heavens holds with a span,
Gave Freedom's rights to every man! The mighty orbs this truth maintain--
Enforcing loud in language plain--
Freedom is Nature's primal law,
Instinctive as the breath we draw.
The earth its endless circuit runs;
Planets on planets, suns on suns,
Stretched limitless to human eye,
Far in the depths of ether lie;
Huge worlds o'er worlds majestic go,
And Freedom's power in splendor show!
Each round each other, round the sun,
Through space, through ages these have run!
In all their splendor, all their awe,
Proclaiming Nature's primal law:
He who the heavens holds with a span,
Gave Freedom's rights to every man! Then who shall dare in chains to bind
The freedom of the immortal mind;
To crush the instincts burning there,
Kindled by God's own loving care;
Bind man to wear the cursed chain
That mocks our glory, tells our shame;
Doom the crushed soul in bonds to sigh,
A slave to live, a slave to die!
Oh by the blood our fathers shed
On yonder heights, by Freedom led;
Oh by the sacred gift they gave,
Sealed by their blood, their love, the grave;
Oh by that light born in the mind,
Shall man to slavery be consigned?
He who the heavens holds with a span,
Claims Freedom's rights for every man!