Nay, Speak No Ill

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Original title: 'Speak No Ill'

Sheet Music

Using the tune 'Kindly Word' as seen in Relief Society Song Book, 1919, no. 75

Tunes

Lyrics

Lyrics from Relief Society Song Book, 1919, no. 75

1. Nay, speak no ill, a kindly word
Can never leave a sting behind;
And oh, to breathe each tale we’ve heard,
Is far beneath a noble mind.
Full oft a better seed is sown
By choosing thus the kinder plan,
For, if but little good is known,
Still let us speak the best we can.

2. Give me the heart that fain would hide—
Would fain another’s faults efface:
How can it please the human pride
To prove humanity but base?
No, let us reach a higher mood—
A nobler estimate of man,
Be earnest in the search for good,
And speak of all the best we can.

3. Then speak no ill, but lenient be
To other’s failings as your own;
If you’re the first a fault to see,
Be not the first to make it known.
For life is but a passing day,
No lip may tell how brief its span;
Then, O the little time we stay,
Let’s speak of all the best we can.

References