Hymn
Nothing But Leaves
Nothing but leaves! The Spirit grieves
O'er years of wasted life;
O'er sins indulged while conscience slept,
O'er vows and promises unkept,
And reaps from years of strife
Nothing but leaves! Nothing but leaves!
Nothing but leaves! No gathered sheaves,
Of life's fair ripening grain:
We sow our seeds; lo! tares and weeds,
Words, idle words, for earnest deeds,
Then reap, with toil and pain,
Nothing but leaves! Nothing but leaves!
Nothing but leaves! Sad memory weaves
No vail to hide the past;
And as we trace our weary way,
And count each lost and misspent day,
We sadly find at last
Nothing but leaves! Nothing but leaves!
Ah, who shall thus the Master meet
And bring but withered leaves?
Ah, who shall at the Saviour's feet,
Before the awful judgment seat
Lay down for golden sheaves,
Nothing but leaves! Nothing but leaves!
Nothing But Leaves — Text from The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book, 1886. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/nothing-but-leaves
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Questions about this hymn
Who wrote Nothing But Leaves?
The words of Nothing But Leaves were written by Lucy E. Akerman; the version here was published in 1886.
Is Nothing But Leaves public domain?
Yes. The words here are taken from The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book, published in 1886. Works published before 1931 are out of copyright in the United States, so you can print, project, perform and record this hymn freely. How we source and check every hymn.