1. There's Springtime in the air When the happy robin sings, And earth grows bright and fair, Covered with the robe she brings.
_Cho._ March, oh, march, 'tis Arbor Day, Joy for all and cares away; March, oh, march, from duties free To the planting of the tree.
2. There's Springtime in the air When the buds begin to swell, And woodlands, brown and bare, All the summer joys foretell.--_Cho._
3. There's Springtime in the air When the heart so fondly pays This tribute, sweet and rare, Which to mother earth we raise.--_Cho._
Gather we here to plant the fair tree; Gladsome the hour, joyous and free, Greeting to thee, fairest of May! Breathe sweet the buds on our loved Arbor Day. Gather we now, the sapling around, Singing our song--let it resound:
_Refrain._ Happy the day! Happy the hour! Joyous we, all of us, feel their glad power.
Shovel and spade, trowel and hoe, Carefully dig up the quick-yielding ground; Make we a bed, softly lay low Each little root with the earth spread around; Snug as a nest, the soil round them pressed, This is the home that the rootlings love best.
Moisten and soften the ground, ye Spring Rains; Swell ye the buds, and fill ye the veins, Bless the dear tree, bountiful Sun; Warm thou the blood in the stem till it run; Hasten the growth, let leaves have birth, Make it most beautiful thing of the earth.
NOTE.--One or more of the recitations may be given with the planting of each tree, the number depending upon the number of trees planted.
Plant in the spring-time the beautiful trees, So that in future each soft summer breeze, Whispering through tree-tops may call to our mind, Days of our childhood then left far behind.
Days when we learned to be faithful and true; Days when we yearned our life's future to view; Days when the good seemed so easy to do; Days when life's cares were so light and so few.
Plant trees for beauty, for pleasure and for health; Plant trees for shelter, for fruitage and for wealth.
True worth is in _being_, not _seeming_, In doing each day that goes by Some little good--not in the dreaming Of great things to do by and by.
Oh, happy trees which we plant to-day, What great good fortunes wait you! For you will grow in sun and snow Till fruit and flowers freight you.