The Lost Chord

The Lost Chord Lyrics

Seated one day at the organ,
I was weary and ill at ease,
And my fingers wandered idly
Over the noisy keys.

I know not what I was playing,
Or what I was dreaming then;
But I struck one chord of music,
Like the sound of a great Amen.

It flooded the crimson twilight,
Like the close of an angel's psalm,
And it lay on my fevered spirit
With a touch of infinite calm.

It quieted pain and sorrow,
Like love overcoming strife;
It seemed the harmonious echo
From our discordant life.

It linked all perplexéd meanings
Into one perfect peace,
And trembled away into silence
As if it were loth to cease.

I have sought, but I seek it vainly,
That one lost chord divine,
Which came from the soul of the organ,
And entered into mine.

It may be that death's bright angel
Will speak in that chord again,
It may be that only in Heav'n
I shall hear that grand Amen.

Sullivan - The Lost Chord - Music Book

SIDEBAR: On April 29, 1912, Enrico Caruso sang "The Lost Chord" at the Metropolitan Opera House (at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York City) at a benefit concert for families of victims of the Titanic disaster. He recorded the song for the Victor Talking Machine Company the same day.

The British progressive rock group, The Moody Blues, titled their third album In Search of the Lost Chord. Released in 1968, the album intertwines songs with spoken-word pieces which are similar in language and subject matter to Procter's poem, The Lost Chord.