Beautiful Homeland

A city awaits us we soon shall behold,
Whose walls are of jasper, whose streets are of gold;
Not half of its glories have ever been told,
Blessèd homeland, dear homeland, sweet home of the soul.

Refrain

Oh, I long, yes I long there to dwell,
Mid the pleasures no mortal can tell,
In the place our dear Savior has gone to prepare,
Blessèd homeland, dear homeland, sweet home of the soul.

The friends that we love who have gone on before,
Now wait for our coming on yonder bright shore,
Where day never fades, tears may fall nevermore,
Blessèd homeland, dear homeland, sweet home of the soul.

Refrain

O homeland, dear homeland! tho’ eye hath not seen,
And sometimes the shadowy clouds intervene,
Thy light we’ll behold, and thy pastures so green,
Blessèd homeland, dear homeland, sweet home of the soul.

Refrain

Author: Unknown

No clear attribution found in common hymnals or databases for this exact text. It appears in some 20th-century shape-note and gospel song collections (often paired with a tune by J. W. Gaines or similar), but the lyricist is not credited. Style and themes are typical of late-19th/early-20th-century American gospel songs; could be by an anonymous camp-meeting or revival writer.