A Psalm of Life

Inspirational traditional American folk with a touch of roots rock, deep warm male baritone, sincere expressive storytelling vocals, acoustic guitar fingerpicking in the intro, gradually building strummed acoustic guitars, subtle banjo, warm fiddle accents, steady organic percussion, deep upright bass, powerful melodic singalong chorus with restrained group harmonies, reflective verses growing into an uplifting and determined finale, timeless 19th-century American poetic spirit, themes of courage, purpose, perseverance and leaving a meaningful legacy, natural English pronunciation, authentic live-band feel, dynamic arrangement, around 88 BPM, 3 to 4 minutes, no electronic beats, no synths, no glossy pop production, no exaggerated theatrical vocals. [Intro - Soft Acoustic Guitar] Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream... [Verse 1 - Deep Male Vocal] Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream, For the soul is living, waking, And things are not what they seem. Life is real, and life is earnest, And the grave is not its goal, Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. [Chorus - Full Band Enters] Rise up, rise up, and live today, Don't let the years just fade away. Leave your mark upon the land, Build with heart and work with hand. Rise up, rise up, let your life be A light for all the world to see. Step by step, through joy and pain, Let your work outlive your name. [Verse 2] In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle, Be a hero in the strife! Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant, Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act, act in the living Present, Heart within, and God o'erhead! [Chorus] Rise up, rise up, and live today, Don't let the years just fade away. Leave your mark upon the land, Build with heart and work with hand. Rise up, rise up, let your life be A light for all the world to see. Step by step, through joy and pain, Let your work outlive your name. [Verse 3 - Stronger Vocal] Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time. Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. [Bridge - Stripped Back Acoustic] Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait. [Final Chorus - Full Band, Group Harmonies] Rise up, rise up, and live today, Don't let the years just fade away. Leave your mark upon the land, Build with heart and work with hand. Rise up, rise up, let your life be A light for all the world to see. Step by step, through joy and pain, Let your work outlive your name. [Outro - Acoustic Guitar and Male Vocal] Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait...