and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

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yaca
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Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2012 1:17 pm
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and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

Post by yaca » Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:52 pm

used to sing this hymn at school, but have never heard it since....

for i had seen the face of men i had only sensed before, and i turned away, yes i turned away.



and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind,
the lines of envy around their lips and the greed and the hate in their eyes..... and so on.


does anyone know this hymn ?

thanks, peter.
steveliu
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and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

Post by steveliu » Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:47 pm

I believe this hymn is "The Perfect Face".

1.
I saw the grass, I saw the trees,
And the boats along the shore.
I saw the shapes of many things
I had only guessed before.
And I saw the faces of men more clearly
Than if I had never been blind:
The lines of envy around their lips
And the greed and the hate in their eyes:

Chorus
And I turned away,
Yes, I turned away,
For I had seen the perfect face
Of a real and proper man:
The man who brought me from the dark
Into light-where life began.

2.
I made my way into the town,
To the busy crowded streets:
The shops and stores and alleyways,
Through the squalor and the heat.
And I saw the faces of men more clearly
Than if I had never been blind:
The lines of envy around their lips
And the greed and the hate in their eyes:

3.
I made my way into the hills,
To a quiet and lonely place.
I found a clear unruffled pool
And I gazed upon my face.
And I saw this face of mine more clearly
Than if I had never been blind:
The lines of envy around my lips
And the greed and the hate in my eyes:

4.
I saw the grass, I saw the trees,
And the boats along the shore.
I saw the shapes of many things
I had only guessed before.
And I saw the faces of men more clearly
Than if I had never been blind:
The lines of sorrow around their lips
And the child looking out from their eyes:

The author is unknown. Hope this helps.

Thanks!
Steve
yaca
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2012 1:17 pm
Contact:

and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

Post by yaca » Mon Jul 09, 2012 10:17 pm

thank you so much........... it's a great hymn, if only i could find a performance of it would complete my quest....... thanks again tho very much
Guest

and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

Post by Guest » Mon May 20, 2013 2:22 pm

Thanks, Steve.
I also remember this hymn from my RC primary school in the UK, and I was googling for it today. BTW, this is the only non-bogus hit out of 9 total.

Note that for the hymn to make (Christian theological) sense the final chorus has to be "And I turned to them..."


Hyoi.
Guest

and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

Post by Guest » Mon May 20, 2013 3:14 pm

I remember the words slightly differently, and I've added some guitar chords

Code: Select all

	1.
	C Dm7      C       Am        C
	I saw the grass, I saw the trees,
	         Dm              Am
	And the boats along the shore.
	C Dm7       C        Am    C
	I saw the shapes of many things
	       Dm             Am
	I had only guessed before.
	       Gm                  C
	And I saw the features of men more clearly
	     F                    Dm
	Than if I had never been blind:
	     Gm             C
	The lines of envy around their lips
	          F                         Dm
	And the greed and the hate in their eyes:
	
	Chorus
	       Gm ///              C ///
	And I turned away, yes, I turned away,
	C Dm7   C        Am      C
	Remembering the perfect face
	      Dm        /    Am  /
	Of a real and proper man:
	C   Dm7      C          Am       C
	The man who brought me from the dark
	      Gm  ////      C      F
	Into light - where life began.
	
	2.
	I made my way into the town,                        C Dm7 C  Am C
	To the busy crowded streets:                          Dm / Am /
	The shops and stores and alleyways,                 C Dm7 C  Am C
	Through the squalor and the heat.                     Dm / Am /
	And I saw the features of men more clearly          Gm / C /
	Than if I had never been blind:                     F  / Dm /
	The lines of envy around their lips                 Gm / C /
	And the greed and the hate in their eyes:           F  / Dm /
	
	
	And I turned away, yes, I turned away,              Gm /// C ///
	Remembering the perfect face                        C Dm7 C Am C
	Of a real and proper man:                             Dm / Am /
	The man who brought me from the dark                C Dm7 C  Am C
	Into light - where life began.                        Gm ////  C  F
	
	3.
	I made my way away from there,
	To a quiet and lonely place.
	I found a clear unruffled pool
	And I gazed upon my face.
	And I saw the features of me more clearly
	Than if I had never been blind:
	The lines of envy around my lips
	And the greed and the hate in my eyes:
	
	Chorus:
	
	4.
	I saw the grass, I saw the trees,
	And the boats along the shore.
	I saw the shapes of many things
	I had only guessed before.
	And I saw the features of men more clearly
	Than if I had never been blind:
	The lines of sorrow around their lips
	And the child looking out of their eyes:
	
	Final Chorus:
	And I turned to them, yes, I turned to them,
	Remembering the perfect face
	Of a real and proper man:
	The man who brought me from the dark
	Into light - where life began.
	
Guest

and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

Post by Guest » Sat Mar 15, 2014 7:55 pm

Been looking for this for years! Thank you! X
Guest

and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

Post by Guest » Fri Dec 12, 2014 10:00 pm

Anyone got a way to listen to it online? I can't find it on youtube
Guest

and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

Post by Guest » Tue Jan 13, 2015 9:51 pm

The author is Estelle White.
Here is a recording of the song played on a flute:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdy6jl6ygh4
Guest

and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

Post by Guest » Thu Jun 30, 2016 5:49 pm

I used to sing this at school too. It was in the hymn book at church at the time but it has now been taken out for some reason. It's a lovely hymn. I thought no-one else would remember it. Sally.
Guest

and i saw the faces of men more clearly than if i had never been blind, the lines of envy around the

Post by Guest » Sun May 07, 2017 8:09 pm

My children still sing it at school now. Love this hymn.
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