Only an Armor Bearer

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Only an armor-bearer, proudly I stand

Author: P. P. Bliss
Tune: [Only an armor bearer, firmly I stand]
Published in 21 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 Only an armer-bearer, proudly I stand,
Waiting to follow at the King's command;
Marching if "onward" shall the order be,
Standing by my Captain, serving faithfully.

Chorus:
Hear ye the battle cry! "Forward," the call!
See! see the faltering ones! backward they fall!
Surely the Captain may depend on me,
Tho' but an armor-bearer I may be.
Surely the Captain may depend on me,
Tho' but an armor-bearer I may be.

2 Only an armor-bearer, now in the field,
Guarding a shining helmet, sword, and shield,
Waiting to hear the thrilling battle-cry,
Ready then to answer, "Master, here am I." [Chorus]

3 Only an armor-bearer, yet may I share
Glory immortal, and a bright crown wear;
If, in the battle, to my trust I am true,
Mine shall be the honors in the Grand Review. [Chorus]

Source: Minnetonka Songs: for Sabbath Schools, compiled especially for the Minnetonka Sabbath-School Assembly #124c

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Author: P. P. Bliss

Philip P. Bliss (b. Clearfield County, PA, 1838; d. Ashtabula, OH, 1876) left home as a young boy to make a living by working on farms and in lumber camps, all while trying to continue his schooling. He was converted at a revival meeting at age twelve. Bliss became an itinerant music teacher, making house calls on horseback during the winter, and during the summer attending the Normal Academy of Music in Genesco, New York. His first song was published in 1864, and in 1868 Dwight L. Moody advised him to become a singing evangelist. For the last two years of his life Bliss traveled with Major D. W. Whittle and led the music at revival meetings in the Midwest and Southern United States. Bliss and Ira D. Sankey published a popular series of hym… Go to person page >

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First Line:	Only an armor-bearer, proudly I stand
Title:	Only an Armor Bearer
Author:	P. P. Bliss
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	Surely the Captain may depend on me
Notes:	German translations: See "Bin nur ein Waffenträger, doch folg' ich gern" by Ernst Gebhardt, "Bin nur ein Waffenträger für meinen Herrn", "O nur als Waffenträger, stehe ich hier" by Ernst Gebhardt
Copyright:	Public Domain