Annie Louisa Walker
Anna Louisa Walker (Staffordshire, 23 June 1836 - Bath, Somerset, 7 July 1907) was an English and Canadian teacher and author. She authored five novels and two collections of poetry, as well as editing one autobiography. Her poem, The Night Cometh, serves as the lyrics in the popular hymn Work, for the night is coming.
Anna Louisa was born to Robert and Anna Walker on 23 June 1836 in Staffordshire, England. She was the last of her father's nine children, although only her brothers Thomas Andrew, and Charles were full siblings, her older siblings being from her father's two previous marriages. Her father was a civil engineer, and brought the family to Pointe-Lévy, Lower Canada around 1853, where he was employed with the Grand Trunk Railroad. In 1858, the family relocated again, to Sarnia, Canada West. Soon after the family's arrival in Sarnia, Anna Louisa founded a private girl's school with her sisters Frances and Isabella. The school was only open a few years before the deaths of Frances and Isabella forced its closure.
Poems by Walker had been published in newspapers and periodicals beginning when she was a teenager. She published an anonymous collection of poems entitled Leaves from the backwoods in 1861. The volume was printed in Montreal by John Lovell. From this volume the poem The Night Cometh was taken and set to music by Ira D. Sankey, who published it as a hymn Work, for the night is coming in the collection Sacred Songs and Solos. As the poem was published anonymously, Walker received no credit in the volume for the lyrics, which were commonly misattributed to Sidney Dyer. The poem is based on John 9:4. Most poems in the collection concern religious or natural themes
In 1863 or 1864, her parents returned to England, and she accompanied them.
Anna Louisa was born to Robert and Anna Walker on 23 June 1836 in Staffordshire, England. She was the last of her father's nine children, although only her brothers Thomas Andrew, and Charles were full siblings, her older siblings being from her father's two previous marriages. Her father was a civil engineer, and brought the family to Pointe-Lévy, Lower Canada around 1853, where he was employed with the Grand Trunk Railroad. In 1858, the family relocated again, to Sarnia, Canada West. Soon after the family's arrival in Sarnia, Anna Louisa founded a private girl's school with her sisters Frances and Isabella. The school was only open a few years before the deaths of Frances and Isabella forced its closure.
Poems by Walker had been published in newspapers and periodicals beginning when she was a teenager. She published an anonymous collection of poems entitled Leaves from the backwoods in 1861. The volume was printed in Montreal by John Lovell. From this volume the poem The Night Cometh was taken and set to music by Ira D. Sankey, who published it as a hymn Work, for the night is coming in the collection Sacred Songs and Solos. As the poem was published anonymously, Walker received no credit in the volume for the lyrics, which were commonly misattributed to Sidney Dyer. The poem is based on John 9:4. Most poems in the collection concern religious or natural themes
In 1863 or 1864, her parents returned to England, and she accompanied them.
The Night ComethWork! for the night is coming;
Work! through the morning hours; Work! while the dew is sparkling; Work! 'mid the springing flowers; Work! while the day grows brighter, Under the glowing sun; Work! for the night is coming,-- Night, when man's work is done. Work! for the night is coming; Work! through the sunny noon; Fill the bright hours with labour, Rest cometh sure and soon. Give to each flying minute Something to keep in store; Work! for the night is coming,-- Night, when man works no more. Work! for the night is coming; Under the sunset skies, While their bright tints are glowing, Work! for the daylight flies; Work! till the last beam fadeth, Fadeth to shine no more; Work! while the night is darkening,-- Night, when man's work is o'er. |
Women's RightsYou cannot rob us of the rights we cherish,
Nor turn our thoughts away From the bright picture of a "Woman's Mission" Our hearts portray. We claim to dwell, in quiet and seclusion, Beneath the household roof,-- From the great world's harsh strife, and jarring voices, To stand aloof;-- Not in a dreamy and inane abstraction To sleep our life away, But, gathering up the brightness of home sunshine, To deck our way. As humble plants by country hedgerows growing, That treasure up the rain, And yield in odours, ere the day's declining, The gift again; So let us, unobtrusive and unnoticed, But happy none the less, Be privileged to fill the air around us With happiness; To live, unknown beyond the cherished circle, Which we can bless and aid; To die, and not a heart that does not love us Know where we're laid. |
The Old Men Used to SingThe old men used to sing
And lifted a brother Carefully Out the door I used to think they Were born Knowing how to Gently swing A casket They shuffled softly Eyes dry More awkward With the flowers Than with the widow After they'd put the Body in And stood around waiting In their Brown suits. |