It was was originally published in her 1965 collection "Joy is like the Rain". Sheet music for the Joy is Like the Rain collection is the only known source of sheet music for this song - it is available from the Medical Mission Sisters (link below).
The song doesn't appear to have been included in many hymnals, but it is in the Catholic Hymn Book, RPI, Nigeria, published in 1976, and in a Divine Mercy pilgrimage booklet in Hungary. It is sometimes used at funerals. More recently, the text was set to a jazz tune and included on an album, Seven Whole Days released in 1970, and recently re-released on CD, by Australian-educated and at the time Singapore-based Anglican priest and composer James (Jim) Minchin (b 1942) (ref).
Note that the song is quite different from the folk-hymn of the same name which was made famous by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Downloads
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Examples
Original recording:
Singer with guitar:
Recording by a group in the Caribbean (1970s? Sound quality is not the best)
Singer with accordian? Home-made tribute recording:
Lyrics
The lyrics are copyright so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available on this website.A rough outline is
Man is lonely by birth,
Man is only a pilgrim on earth
Born to be king, time is but a temporary thing.
Only on loan while on earth.
Like the wind in the tree,
Man has been rather reckless and free,
Thrown far and wide, he longs to settle down beside,
The stream flow through eternity.
Like the grass on the lawn,
He will pass by the way and be gone,
A lesson to learn, We walk but once, there’s no return.
Time is always moving on.
Man is longing for One,
For a song and a place in the sun,
A home up above, Where everyday is lived in love.
For rest when the journey is done.
I love this song. I sang it in the choir as a girl.
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