Another Song Comment
One of the earliest things we learn about sentence structure is making the tenses match. If it’s past, it’s past; present is present; future is future. Mixing and matching is inappropriate.
The song in which this bothers me is the song “Sheltered in the Arms of God.” The sentiment of the song is great, but the use of the word “trod” in two places is incorrect.
In the first verse, it says:
I feel the touch of hands so kind and tender
They’re leading me in the paths that I must trod
I’ll have no fear for Jesus walks beside me
For I’m sheltered in the arms of God
“I must trod.” No. “I must tread.” There are ways this could be rewritten to keep the sentiment but make the rhyme appropriate. For instance,
- They have led me in the paths that I have trod
- They’re leading me in the paths on this earth’s sod
- They’re leading me in the paths where I must plod
In verse two, the word is again misused:
Soon I shall hear the call from heaven’s portals
“Come home my child, it’s the last mile you must trod”
I’ll fall asleep and wake in God’s sweet heaven
For I’m sheltered safe in the arms of God
“…you must trod.” NO! “You must tread.” Again, rewrites are possible for this stanza as well.
- “Come home my child, it’s the last mile you have trod”
- “Come home my child, it’s your last step on earth’s sod”
- “Come home my child, it’s your last mile” He will nod
Conclusion: In my opinion, there is no excuse for this sort of grammatical impropriety.