I just finished watching an old TV show in which a drunk character sings snatches of a song or songs. The first one I was able to find and turned out to be the first two lines of a quotation from the New England Primer. The entire quotation, dated as early as 1683, is this: Our days begin with trouble here, our life is but a span, And cruel death is always near, so frail a thing is man. Then sow the seeds of grace whilst young, that when thou com'st to die, Thou may'st sing forth that triumph song, Death where's thy victory. The second bit of singing consisted of these lines and I am wondering if they are from a real song or poem. Does anyone recognize them? "... Oh lament all that which is ... will only bring despair and hate ... for death's where justice is."
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