400 Best Good Morning Quotes to Start Days Bright Daily

Finding the right words at daybreak should not mean settling for a generic greeting. This collection of 400 good morning quotes gathers famous lines about mornings, sunrise, dawn, and new beginnings — from Bible verses and Shakespeare to Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, Marcus Aurelius, and documented songs about the morning. You will find solemn lines for a quiet dawn, joyful lines for a bright sunrise, short lines for a text, and wise lines about beginning again. Use these good morning quotes to start the day with words that have already lasted for centuries.

Editor’s Picks: Best Good Morning Quotes

1. Morning in the Bible: Dawn and Creation

1. “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” — Genesis 1:5, Bible
2. “And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.” — Genesis 1:8, Bible
3. “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.” — Genesis 19:15, Bible
4. “And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD.” — Genesis 19:27, Bible
5. “And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.” — Genesis 28:18, Bible
6. “And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD.” — Exodus 16:7, Bible
7. “And in the morning ye shall eat bread to the full; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.” — Exodus 16:12, Bible
8. “And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating.” — Exodus 16:21, Bible
9. “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount.” — Exodus 19:16, Bible
10. “The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even.” — Exodus 29:39, Bible
11. “And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.” — Exodus 34:2, Bible
12. “And Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him.” — Exodus 34:4, Bible
13. “And on the morrow, when the sun was up, the sea returned to his strength.” — Exodus 14:27, Bible
14. “And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.” — Joshua 6:12, Bible
15. “And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel.” — Joshua 3:1, Bible
16. “And it came to pass in the morning, that the whole host of Midian and Amalek and all the children of the east were gathered together.” — Judges 6:33, Bible
17. “Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place.” — Job 38:12, Bible
18. “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” — Job 38:7, Bible
19. “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand.” — Ecclesiastes 11:6, Bible
20. “Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?” — Song of Solomon 6:10, Bible
21. “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” — Mark 1:35, Bible
22. “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.” — Mark 16:2, Bible
23. “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared.” — Luke 24:1, Bible
24. “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre.” — John 20:1, Bible
25. “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” — Matthew 28:1, Bible
26. “And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place.” — Luke 4:42, Bible
27. “And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.” — John 8:2, Bible
28. “But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore.” — John 21:4, Bible
29. “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” — Revelation 22:16, Bible
30. “I will also give him the morning star.” — Revelation 2:28, Bible
31. “And it shall come to pass, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city.” — Judges 9:33, Bible

What these teach: Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Job, Ecclesiastes, and the Gospels all place decisive moments at daybreak in this section, from the first morning of creation to the empty tomb at sunrise. The pattern is steady: night ends, light returns, and work, prayer, or a journey begins again.

2. Psalms at Daybreak

32. “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” — Psalm 5:3, Bible
33. “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.” — Psalm 3:5, Bible
34. “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning.” — Psalm 59:16, Bible
35. “O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” — Psalm 90:14, Bible
36. “To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.” — Psalm 92:2, Bible
37. “I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.” — Psalm 119:147, Bible
38. “My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.” — Psalm 130:6, Bible
39. “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust.” — Psalm 143:8, Bible
40. “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea.” — Psalm 139:9, Bible
41. “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.” — Psalm 46:5, Bible
42. “Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.” — Psalm 57:8, Bible
43. “But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.” — Psalm 88:13, Bible
44. “Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.” — Psalm 65:8, Bible
45. “Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.” — Psalm 108:2, Bible
46. “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” — Psalm 17:15, Bible
47. “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised.” — Psalm 113:3, Bible
48. “In his going forth, as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, he rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.” — Psalm 19:5, Bible
49. “The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.” — Psalm 104:22, Bible
50. “The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.” — Psalm 74:16, Bible
51. “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.” — Psalm 19:2, Bible
52. “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” — Psalm 30:5, Bible
53. “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee.” — Psalm 63:1, Bible
54. “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat, for he grants sleep to those he loves.” — Psalm 127:2, Bible
55. “In the morning they are like grass which groweth up.” — Psalm 90:5, Bible
56. “In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.” — Psalm 90:6, Bible
57. “My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I might meditate in thy word.” — Psalm 119:148, Bible
58. “In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.” — Psalm 78:14, Bible
59. “The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.” — Psalm 121:6, Bible
60. “Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.” — Psalm 57:8, Bible
61. “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.” — Psalm 145:2, Bible
62. “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” — Psalm 55:17, Bible

What these teach: The psalms in this section turn morning into a daily appointment, with prayer before dawn, singing at sunrise, and waiting for light like a watchman waiting for daybreak. The same voice returns every morning, not because the night is forgotten, but because each dawn is a fresh chance to begin.

3. Prophets and New Mercies Every Morning

63. “They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” — Lamentations 3:23, Bible
64. “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.” — Isaiah 60:1, Bible
65. “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” — Isaiah 60:2, Bible
66. “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.” — Isaiah 58:8, Bible
67. “With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early.” — Isaiah 26:9, Bible
68. “O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.” — Isaiah 33:2, Bible
69. “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” — Isaiah 50:4, Bible
70. “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning.” — Hosea 6:3, Bible
71. “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.” — Malachi 4:2, Bible
72. “Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not.” — Zephaniah 3:5, Bible
73. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” — Genesis 1:3, Bible
74. “He maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth.” — Amos 4:13, Bible
75. “For the day star to arise in your hearts.” — 2 Peter 1:19, Bible
76. “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” — Ephesians 5:14, Bible
77. “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” — Romans 13:11, Bible
78. “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” — Ephesians 5:8, Bible
79. “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” — Proverbs 4:18, Bible
80. “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.” — Genesis 1:4, Bible
81. “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light.” — Revelation 22:5, Bible
82. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” — Isaiah 9:2, Bible
83. “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” — John 8:12, Bible
84. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” — John 1:4-5, Bible
85. “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” — 2 Corinthians 4:6, Bible
86. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” — Psalm 119:105, Bible
87. “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory.” — Psalm 84:11, Bible
88. “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” — Psalm 36:9, Bible
89. “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” — Psalm 97:11, Bible
90. “Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.” — Psalm 112:4, Bible
91. “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” — Psalm 119:130, Bible
92. “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.” — Genesis 32:24, Bible
93. “And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, and he halted upon his thigh.” — Genesis 32:31, Bible

What these teach: Isaiah, Hosea, Malachi, Zephaniah, and Lamentations all describe mercy as something that returns with the light, not once, but every morning. The prophets in this section do not promise a night without darkness; they promise a dawn that keeps its appointment.

4. Morning on the Elizabethan Stage

94. “Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye, the day to cheer and night’s dank dew to dry, I must up-fill this osier cage of ours with baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers.” — Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
95. “Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief.” — Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
96. “Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.” — Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
97. “The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night, chequering the eastern clouds with streaks of light.” — Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
98. “But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, walks o’er the dew of yon high eastward hill.” — Hamlet, William Shakespeare
99. “Full many a glorious morning have I seen flatter the mountain-tops with sovereign eye.” — Sonnet 33, William Shakespeare
100. “Kissing with golden face the meadows green, gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.” — Sonnet 33, William Shakespeare
101. “Lo! in the orient when the gracious light lifts up his burning head, each under eye doth homage to his new-appearing sight.” — Sonnet 7, William Shakespeare
102. “Hark, hark! the lark at heaven’s gate sings, and Phoebus ‘gins arise, his steeds to water at those springs on chaliced flowers that lies.” — Cymbeline, William Shakespeare
103. “Lo, here the gentle lark, weary of rest, from his moist cabinet mounts up on high, and wakes the morning, from whose silver breast the sun ariseth in his majesty.” — Venus and Adonis, William Shakespeare
104. “This day is called the feast of Crispian: he that outlives this day, and comes safe home, will stand a tip-toe when the day is named.” — Henry V, William Shakespeare
105. “The morning comes upon us: we’ll leave you, Brutus.” — Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare
106. “The night has been unruly: where we lay, our chimneys were blown down, and, as they say, lamentings heard i’ the air.” — Macbeth, William Shakespeare
107. “Good morning, both!” — Macbeth, William Shakespeare
108. “Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone, let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown, let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.” — The Good Morrow, John Donne
109. “If her eyes have not blinded thine, look, and tomorrow late, tell me, whether both the Indias of spice and mine be where thou left’st them, or lie here with me.” — The Sun Rising, John Donne
110. “Busy old fool, unruly sun, why dost thou thus, through windows, and through curtains call on us?” — The Sun Rising, John Donne
111. “Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run?” — The Sun Rising, John Donne
112. “Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere; this bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.” — The Sun Rising, John Donne
113. “Thy beams, so reverend and strong, why shouldst thou think? I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink.” — The Sun Rising, John Donne
114. “Now when the rosy-fingered Morning fair, weary of aged Tithon’s saffron bed, had spread her purple robe through dewy air.” — The Faerie Queene, Edmund Spenser
115. “Wake now, my love, awake! for it is time.” — Epithalamion, Edmund Spenser
116. “Even so my sun one early morn did shine, with all triumphant splendour on my brow.” — Sonnet 33, William Shakespeare
117. “But out, alack! he was but one hour mine; the region cloud hath mask’d him from me now.” — Sonnet 33, William Shakespeare
118. “Good morrow, fool, quoth I. No, sir, quoth he, call me not fool till heaven hath sent me fortune.” — As You Like It, William Shakespeare
119. “‘Tis true, ’tis day, what though it be? O wilt thou therefore rise from me?” — Break of Day, John Donne
120. “Rise heart; thy Lord is risen.” — Easter, George Herbert
121. “How fresh, O Lord, how sweet and clean are thy returns! Ev’n as the flowers in spring.” — The Flower, George Herbert
122. “But when from highmost pitch, with weary car, like feeble age, he reeleth from the day.” — Sonnet 7, William Shakespeare
123. “Stay, O sweet, and do not rise! The light that shines comes from thine eyes.” — Break of Day, John Donne

What these teach: Shakespeare, Donne, Spenser, and Herbert all use dawn as a turning point in this section, whether a sun rising over a balcony, a lark waking the morning, or a heart rising with the day. The Elizabethan morning is not decoration; it is the moment when a decision, a farewell, or a new love begins.

5. Romantic Poets on Dawn

124. “This City now doth, like a garment, wear the beauty of the morning.” — Composed upon Westminster Bridge, William Wordsworth
125. “Earth has not anything to show more fair: dull would he be of soul who could pass by a sight so touching in its majesty.” — Composed upon Westminster Bridge, William Wordsworth
126. “Never did sun more beautifully steep in his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill.” — Composed upon Westminster Bridge, William Wordsworth
127. “Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; and all that mighty heart is lying still!” — Composed upon Westminster Bridge, William Wordsworth
128. “The sun does arise, and make happy the skies.” — The Echoing Green, William Blake
129. “The merry bells ring to welcome the Spring.” — The Echoing Green, William Blake
130. “The sky-lark and thrush, the birds of the bush, sing louder around, to the bells’ cheerful sound.” — The Echoing Green, William Blake
131. “Such, such were the joys when we all, girls and boys, in our youth-time were seen on the echoing green.” — The Echoing Green, William Blake
132. “To hear the lark begin his flight, and singing startle the dull night, from his watch-tower in the skies, till the dappled dawn doth rise.” — L’Allegro, John Milton
133. “Then to come, in spite of sorrow, and at my window bid good-morrow, through the sweet-briar, or the vine, or the twisted eglantine.” — L’Allegro, John Milton
134. “Now morn, her rosy steps in the eastern clime advancing, sowed the earth with orient pearl.” — Paradise Lost, John Milton
135. “Hail, holy light, offspring of heaven first-born, or of the eternal coeternal beam.” — Paradise Lost, John Milton
136. “Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet, with charm of earliest birds.” — Paradise Lost, John Milton
137. “This is the month, and this the happy morn, wherein the Son of Heaven’s eternal King, of wedded maid and virgin mother born, our great redemption from above did bring.” — On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, John Milton
138. “It was the winter wild, while the heaven-born child all meanly wrapped in the rude manger lies.” — On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, John Milton
139. “Calm is the morn without a sound, calm as to suit a calmer grief.” — In Memoriam, Alfred, Lord Tennyson
140. “On either side the river lie long fields of barley and of rye, that clothe the wold and meet the sky; and thro’ the field the road runs by to many-tower’d Camelot.” — The Lady of Shalott, Alfred, Lord Tennyson
141. “Peace, peace! he is not dead, he doth not sleep, he hath awakened from the dream of life.” — Adonais, Percy Bysshe Shelley
142. “Up in the morning’s no for me, up in the morning early.” — Robert Burns
143. “Rise like lions after slumber in unvanquishable number, shake your chains to earth like dew which in sleep had fallen on you.” — The Mask of Anarchy, Percy Bysshe Shelley
144. “Chorus hymeneal, or triumphal chant, matched with thine would be all but an empty vaunt.” — To a Skylark, Percy Bysshe Shelley
145. “Like a poet hidden in the light of thought, singing hymns unbidden, till the world is wrought to sympathy with hopes and fears it heeded not.” — To a Skylark, Percy Bysshe Shelley
146. “O my Luve is like a red, red rose that’s newly sprung in June.” — A Red, Red Rose, Robert Burns
147. “And I have felt a presence that disturbs me with the joy of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime of something far more deeply interfused.” — Tintern Abbey, William Wordsworth
148. “Five years have past; five summers, with the length of five long winters! and again I hear these waters, rolling from their mountain-springs with a soft inland murmur.” — Tintern Abbey, William Wordsworth
149. “So was it when my life began; so is it now I am a man; so be it when I shall grow old, or let me die!” — My Heart Leaps Up, William Wordsworth
150. “In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.” — In the Bleak Midwinter, Christina Rossetti
151. “Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you: but when the leaves hang trembling, the wind is passing through.” — Who Has Seen the Wind, Christina Rossetti
152. “When I behold, upon the night’s starr’d face, huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, and think that I may never live to trace their shadows, with the magic hand of chance.” — When I Have Fears, John Keats
153. “Then felt I like some watcher of the skies when a new planet swims into his ken.” — On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, John Keats
154. “Much have I travelled in the realms of gold, and many goodly states and kingdoms seen.” — On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, John Keats

What these teach: Wordsworth, Blake, Milton, Tennyson, Shelley, Burns, Rossetti, and Keats all find dawn in different weather, from a sleeping city at sunrise to a winter morning and a spring morning. The Romantic morning in this section is a mood as much as a time: quiet, fresh, and open to whatever the day will bring.

6. American Poets at Sunrise

155. “Will there really be a morning? Is there such a thing as day?” — Emily Dickinson
156. “The brain is wider than the sky, for, put them side by side, the one the other will contain with ease, and you beside.” — Emily Dickinson
157. “The birds begun at four o’clock, their period for dawn.” — Emily Dickinson
158. “The Sun just touched the Morning, the Morning, happy thing.” — Emily Dickinson
159. “The morns are meeker than they were, the nuts are getting brown.” — Emily Dickinson
160. “A sepal, petal, and a thorn upon a common summer’s morn.” — Emily Dickinson
161. “The grass so little has to do, a sphere of simple green, with only butterflies to brood, and bees to entertain.” — Emily Dickinson
162. “It sifts from leaden sieves, it powders all the wood.” — Emily Dickinson
163. “A bird came down the walk, he did not know I saw.” — Emily Dickinson
164. “A wind came up out of the sea, and said, O mists, make room for me.” — Daybreak, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
165. “It hailed the ships, and cried, Sail on, ye mariners, the night is gone.” — Daybreak, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
166. “How beautiful is the rain! After the dust and heat, in the broad and fiery street, in the narrow lane, how beautiful is the rain!” — The Rain in Summer, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
167. “I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contained.” — Song of Myself, Walt Whitman
168. “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear.” — I Hear America Singing, Walt Whitman
169. “Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road, healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.” — Song of the Open Road, Walt Whitman
170. “The sun that brief December day rose cheerless over hills of gray.” — Snow-Bound, John Greenleaf Whittier
171. “Shut in from all the world without, we sat the clean-winged hearth about.” — Snow-Bound, John Greenleaf Whittier
172. “Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day; and give us not to think so far away as the uncertain harvest.” — A Prayer in Spring, Robert Frost
173. “Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, so dawn goes down to day.” — Nothing Gold Can Stay, Robert Frost
174. “It said to the forest, Shout! Hang all your leafy banners out!” — Daybreak, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
175. “And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black.” — The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost
176. “When I go up through the mowing field, the headless aftermath, smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew.” — A Late Walk, Robert Frost
177. “The way a crow shook down on me the dust of snow from a hemlock tree has given my heart a change of mood.” — Dust of Snow, Robert Frost
178. “I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me.” — Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson
179. “Daughters of Time, the hypocritic Days, muffled and dumb like barefoot dervishes, and marching single in an endless file, bring diadems and fagots in their hands.” — Days, Ralph Waldo Emerson
180. “In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods, spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook.” — The Rhodora, Ralph Waldo Emerson
181. “To him who in the love of Nature holds communion with her visible forms, she speaks a various language.” — Thanatopsis, William Cullen Bryant
182. “When beechen buds begin to swell, and woods the blue-bird’s warble know, the yellow violet’s modest bell peeps from the last year’s leaves below.” — The Yellow Violet, William Cullen Bryant
183. “Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, as the swift seasons roll!” — The Chambered Nautilus, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
184. “And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days.” — The Vision of Sir Launfal, James Russell Lowell
185. “The morning is the price of daylight, and the daylight is the price of night.” — Attributed to Emily Dickinson

What these teach: Dickinson, Longfellow, Whitman, Whittier, Frost, Emerson, Bryant, Holmes, and Lowell all watch sunrise in American weather, from a December sun over grey hills to a summer morn with a sepal, a petal, and a thorn. The American morning in this section is practical: notice the light, take the road, and let the day be the best day of the year.

7. Morning in Classic Novels and Stories

186. “It was a rimy morning, and very damp. I had seen the damp lying on the outside of my little window.” — Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
187. “Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping.” — Bleak House, Charles Dickens
188. “London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall.” — Bleak House, Charles Dickens
189. “Saturday morning was come, and all the summer world was bright and fresh, and bubbling over with life.” — The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
190. “The sun was up so high when I waked that I judged it was after eight o’clock.” — Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
191. “Oh, it’s delightful to have ambitions. I’m so glad I have such a lot. And there never seems to be a lack of them.” — Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
192. “Tomorrow is a new day, and there is no telling what it may bring.” — Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
193. “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” — Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
194. “What a lark! What a plunge! For so it had always seemed to her, when, with a little squeak of the hinges, which she could hear now, she had burst open the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air.” — Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
195. “How fresh, how calm, stiller than this of course, the air was in the early morning.” — Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
196. “Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.” — Ulysses, James Joyce
197. “Let us be elegant or die!” — Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
198. “If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” — The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
199. “The cat, he walked by himself, and all places were alike to him.” — The Cat That Walked by Himself, Rudyard Kipling
200. “The world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.” — A Child’s Garden of Verses, Robert Louis Stevenson
201. “The bishop’s palace was a large, handsome house, built of stone at the beginning of the last century.” — Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
202. “The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to his place where he arose.” — Ecclesiastes 1:5, Bible
203. “I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.” — Moby-Dick, Herman Melville
204. “Call me Ishmael. Some years ago, never mind how long precisely, having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.” — Moby-Dick, Herman Melville
205. “About thirty years ago Miss Maria Ward, of Huntingdon, with only seven thousand pounds, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram, of Mansfield Park, in the county of Northampton, and to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet’s lady, with all the comforts and consequences of an handsome house and large income.” — Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
206. “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence.” — Emma, Jane Austen
207. “I am not an angel, I will not be one till I die: I will be myself.” — Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
208. “I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.” — Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
209. “The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.” — The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
210. “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” — The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
211. “Vronsky, meanwhile, in spite of the complete realization of what he had so long desired, was not perfectly happy.” — Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
212. “The happiest women, like the happiest nations, have no history.” — George Eliot
213. “I have just returned from a visit to my landlord, the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with.” — Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
214. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat.” — The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
215. “Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia.” — The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis
216. “I wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales.” — The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien

What these teach: Dickens, Twain, Montgomery, Woolf, Joyce, Alcott, Burnett, Kipling, Stevenson, Hugo, Melville, Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Wilde, Tolstoy, Eliot, Tolkien, and Lewis all open a day, a season, or a life in this section, from a rimy morning in Kent to a Saturday morning bright with summer. The novel morning is a fresh page: tomorrow has no mistakes in it yet, and the story can still change.

8. Songs of the Morning

217. “Sunrise, sunrise, looks like mornin’ in your eyes, and I can see it in your smile.” — Sunrise, Norah Jones
218. “Blackbird has spoken like the first bird.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
219. “Praise for the singing, praise for the morning.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
220. “Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
221. “Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
222. “Like the first dewfall on the first grass.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
223. “Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
224. “Sprung in completeness where his feet pass.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
225. “Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
226. “Born of the one light Eden saw play.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
227. “Praise with elation, praise every morning.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
228. “God’s recreation of the new day.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
229. “Here comes the sun, and I say, it’s all right.” — Here Comes the Sun, George Harrison
230. “Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter.” — Here Comes the Sun, George Harrison
231. “Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here.” — Here Comes the Sun, George Harrison
232. “Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say, it’s all right.” — Here Comes the Sun, George Harrison
233. “Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces.” — Here Comes the Sun, George Harrison
234. “Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been here.” — Here Comes the Sun, George Harrison
235. “Sun, sun, sun, here it comes.” — Here Comes the Sun, George Harrison
236. “Good morning starshine, the earth says hello.” — Good Morning Starshine, Gerome Ragni
237. “You twinkle above us, we twinkle below.” — Good Morning Starshine, Gerome Ragni
238. “Good morning starshine, you lead us along.” — Good Morning Starshine, Gerome Ragni
239. “My love and me as we sing our early morning singing song.” — Good Morning Starshine, Gerome Ragni
240. “Oh, what a beautiful mornin’, oh, what a beautiful day, I’ve got a beautiful feelin’, everything’s goin’ my way.” — Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’, Richard Rodgers
241. “All the cattle are standin’ like statues, all the cattle are standin’ like statues.” — Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’, Richard Rodgers
242. “The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye, and it looks like it’s climbin’ clear up to the sky.” — Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’, Richard Rodgers
243. “Oh, what a beautiful mornin’, oh, what a beautiful day.” — Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’, Richard Rodgers
244. “Good morning, good morning, we’ve talked the whole night through, good morning, good morning to you.” — Good Morning, Arthur Freed
245. “It’s a beautiful morning, ah, I think I’ll go outside a while.” — A Beautiful Morning, Felix Cavaliere
246. “Children, wake up, hold your mistake up, before they turn the summer into dust.” — Wake Up, Arcade Fire

What these teach: Farjeon, Harrison, Ragni, Rodgers, Freed, Cavaliere, Jones, and Arcade Fire all sing the same dawn in different keys, from a hymn about the first morning to a pop song about the sun coming back after winter. The song morning in this section is an invitation: sing first, and the day follows.

9. Philosophers and Thinkers on Waking

247. “In the morning, when you rise unwillingly, let this thought be present: I am rising to the work of a human being.” — Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
248. “There is a dawn in me.” — Walden, Henry David Thoreau
249. “Awake, my soul, and with the sun thy daily stage of duty run.” — Thomas Ken
250. “Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness.” — Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
251. “Count each separate day as a separate life.” — Seneca
252. “We have only today. Let us begin.” — Attributed to Mother Teresa
253. “Every day is the best day in the year.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
254. “The sun is but a morning star.” — Henry David Thoreau
255. “To be awake is to be alive. I have never yet met a man who was quite awake.” — Walden, Henry David Thoreau
256. “We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.” — Walden, Henry David Thoreau
257. “I got up early and bathed in the pond; it was a religious exercise, and one of the best things which I did.” — Walden, Henry David Thoreau
258. “I do not propose to write an ode to dejection, but to brag as lustily as chanticleer in the morning, standing on his roost, if only to wake my neighbors up.” — Walden, Henry David Thoreau
259. “Then there is least somnolence in us; and for an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night.” — Walden, Henry David Thoreau
260. “The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
261. “What we do today is what matters most.” — Attributed to Buddha
262. “Every day, think as you wake up: today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.” — Dalai Lama
263. “The second best time is now.” — Chinese Proverb
264. “Tomorrow is today’s dream.” — Khalil Gibran
265. “Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight.” — The Rubaiyat, Omar Khayyam
266. “And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.” — Matthew 13:6, Bible
267. “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD.” — Psalm 5:3, Bible
268. “This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.” — Attributed to Maya Angelou
269. “And it came to pass, when the sun was risen, that God prepared a vehement east wind.” — Jonah 4:8, Bible
270. “Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.” — Attributed to Dalai Lama
271. “The day is an epitome of the year.” — Henry David Thoreau
272. “I wake up every morning believing that today is going to be better than yesterday.” — Attributed to Oprah Winfrey
273. “Awake, arise, or be for ever fall’n.” — Paradise Lost, John Milton
274. “We wake, if we ever wake at all, to mystery.” — Annie Dillard
275. “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light.” — Exodus 13:21, Bible
276. “The future starts today.” — Attributed to Pope John Paul II
277. “Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth.” — Isaiah 42:10, Bible

What these teach: Marcus Aurelius, Thoreau, Emerson, Dalai Lama, and Winfrey all begin with the same discipline in this section: wake, notice, and choose. The thinker’s morning is not a mood; it is a decision made before the day makes it for you.

10. Proverbs and Sayings of the Early Hours

278. “Early to bed and early to rise.” — Benjamin Franklin
279. “Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight; red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning.” — English Proverb
280. “Rain before seven, fine by eleven.” — English Proverb
281. “He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night.” — Benjamin Franklin
282. “The morning is the best time to start a journey.” — English Proverb
283. “A morning without coffee is like a day without sunshine.” — English Proverb
284. “The dawn is the mother of the day.” — Indian Proverb
285. “Dawn does not come twice to awaken a man.” — Arabic Proverb
286. “An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening.” — English Proverb
287. “Morning fog brings afternoon sun.” — English Proverb
288. “The sun rises for everyone.” — English Proverb
289. “God gives the morning to those who rise early.” — German Proverb
290. “Who rises early will find gold in the morning.” — German Proverb
291. “The morning hour has gold in its mouth.” — German Proverb
292. “Morning is wiser than evening, but evening is kinder than morning.” — Russian Proverb
293. “The early riser finds the morning dew.” — Scottish Proverb
294. “A bright morning brings a bright day.” — Irish Proverb
295. “Morning light makes the heart light.” — Irish Proverb
296. “The cock crows at dawn, and the world wakes with him.” — French Proverb
297. “At dawn, the birds sing, and the farmer rises.” — French Proverb
298. “The morning star guides the traveller home.” — Spanish Proverb
299. “Morning dew is the earth’s first blessing.” — Italian Proverb
300. “The first light of morning chases away the night’s fears.” — Italian Proverb
301. “Rise with the sun, and you will never be late for life.” — Chinese Proverb
302. “The morning breeze carries the scent of new beginnings.” — Chinese Proverb
303. “A morning walk clears the mind for the day.” — Japanese Proverb
304. “The early morning is the time of clear thinking.” — Japanese Proverb
305. “Morning prayer opens the door of the day.” — African Proverb
306. “The sun greets the early riser first.” — African Proverb
307. “Morning is the time when dreams are still fresh.” — Korean Proverb
308. “The day begins with the morning, and the morning begins with gratitude.” — Turkish Proverb

What these teach: Franklin and the proverb traditions in this section all agree that the early hours belong to whoever claims them, whether the saying comes from England, Germany, Russia, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, Africa, Korea, Turkey, India, or Arabia. The proverb morning is practical wisdom: rise, walk, pray, and let the light do its work.

11. Mornings of Hope and New Beginnings

309. “Behold, I make all things new.” — Revelation 21:5, Bible
310. “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing.” — Isaiah 43:18-19, Bible
311. “Now is the day of salvation.” — 2 Corinthians 6:2, Bible
312. “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” — Revelation 21:5, Bible
313. “Every sunrise begins with new eyes.” — Attributed to Richie Norton
314. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” — Psalm 51:10, Bible
315. “Sing unto the LORD a new song.” — Psalm 96:1, Bible
316. “He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.” — Psalm 40:3, Bible
317. “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man.” — Ephesians 4:23-24, Bible
318. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” — Romans 6:4, Bible
319. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17, Bible
320. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.” — Matthew 6:34, Bible
321. “I’ll think about that tomorrow.” — Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
322. “Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table when company comes.” — I, Too, Langston Hughes
323. “The sun’ll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun.” — Annie, Charles Strouse
324. “Lift up your eyes upon this day breaking for you.” — On the Pulse of Morning, Maya Angelou
325. “When I get to be a composer, I’m gonna write me some music about daybreak in Alabama.” — Daybreak in Alabama, Langston Hughes
326. “Like the first morning, blackbird has spoken like the first bird.” — Morning Has Broken, Eleanor Farjeon
327. “The darkest hour is just before dawn.” — English Proverb
328. “Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow.” — Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi
329. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” — Revelation 21:4, Bible
330. “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” — Proverbs 27:1, Bible
331. “Good morning is a contradiction of terms.” — Jim Davis
332. “Morning is wonderful. Its only drawback is that it comes at such an inconvenient time of day.” — Glen Cook
333. “Don’t go back to sleep.” — Rumi
334. “The morning wind spreads its fresh smell. We must get up and take that in, that wind that lets us live.” — Rumi
335. “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.” — E. B. White
336. “Every morning I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work.” — Robert Orben
337. “I get up every morning and it’s going to be a great day. You never know when it’s going to be over, so I refuse to have a bad day.” — Paul Henderson
338. “Tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift.” — Attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt
339. “There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it.” — Mindy Kaling

What these teach: Rumi, White, Orben, Henderson, Kaling, and Norton all point to the same morning truth in this section: the past does not get the last word, because today has not been lived yet. Begin where you are, with what you have, and let the new day do the rest.

12. Sunrise, Light and the Natural Morning

340. “Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie open unto the fields, and to the sky.” — Composed upon Westminster Bridge, William Wordsworth
341. “Light is the first of painters. There is no object so foul that intense light will not make it beautiful.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
342. “The light which puts out our eyes is darkness to us. Only that day dawns to which we are awake.” — Henry David Thoreau
343. “Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears.” — Easter, Charles Wesley
344. “I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers, from the seas and the streams.” — The Cloud, Percy Bysshe Shelley
345. “Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” — John Ruskin
346. “For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant.” — James 1:11, Bible
347. “Sun is shining, the weather is sweet, make you want to move your dancing feet.” — Sun Is Shining, Bob Marley
348. “The sunrise, of course, doesn’t care if we watch it or not. It will keep on being beautiful, even if no one bothers to look at it.” — Attributed to Gene Amole
349. “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night.” — Genesis 1:14, Bible
350. “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.” — Genesis 1:16, Bible
351. “Dawn is the time when nothing breathes, the hour of silence. Everything is transfixed, only the light moves.” — Leonora Carrington
352. “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” — Genesis 8:22, Bible
353. “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” — Matthew 5:14, Bible
354. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.” — Matthew 5:16, Bible
355. “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us.” — Luke 1:78, Bible
356. “To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” — Luke 1:79, Bible
357. “Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon.” — Joshua 10:12, Bible
358. “And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed.” — Joshua 10:13, Bible
359. “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold.” — Isaiah 30:26, Bible
360. “For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.” — Luke 17:24, Bible
361. “The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.” — John Muir
362. “The river glideth at his own sweet will.” — Composed upon Westminster Bridge, William Wordsworth
363. “Will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.” — John Muir
364. “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
365. “In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.” — Psalm 19:4-5, Bible
366. “The morning breaks, the shadows flee; lo, Zion’s standard is unfurled!” — The Morning Breaks, Parley P. Pratt
367. “I am the daughter of Earth and Water, and the nursling of the Sky.” — The Cloud, Percy Bysshe Shelley
368. “I wield the flail of the lashing hail, and whiten the green plains under.” — The Cloud, Percy Bysshe Shelley
369. “Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days.” — Fiddler on the Roof, Sheldon Harnick
370. “Every sunrise is a poem written on the earth with words of light, warmth, and love.” — Debasish Mridha

What these teach: Wordsworth, Emerson, Thoreau, Wesley, Shelley, Ruskin, Amole, and Carrington all treat sunrise as a natural fact first and a metaphor second in this section. The light does not wait for permission, and neither should the day: watch it, use it, and begin again.

13. Short Morning Lines to Start the Day

371. “Arise, shine.” — Isaiah 60:1, Bible
372. “Joy cometh in the morning.” — Psalm 30:5, Bible
373. “New every morning.” — Lamentations 3:23, Bible
374. “I wake up every morning at nine and grab for the morning paper. Then I look at the obituary page. If my name is not on it, I get up.” — Attributed to Benjamin Franklin
375. “Good morning, good morning, good morning.” — Good Morning Good Morning, The Beatles
376. “This is the day.” — Psalm 118:24, Bible
377. “Morning has broken.” — Eleanor Farjeon
378. “Dear Prudence, won’t you come out to play? Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day, the sun is up, the sky is blue, it’s beautiful and so are you.” — Dear Prudence, The Beatles
379. “Rise and shine.” — English Proverb
380. “Wake up and live.” — Bob Marley
381. “Good morning, starshine.” — Gerome Ragni
382. “The sun does arise.” — William Blake
383. “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me, and I’m feeling good.” — Feeling Good, Nina Simone
384. “Birds flying high, you know how I feel, sun in the sky, you know how I feel.” — Feeling Good, Nina Simone
385. “I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.” — Theodore Roethke
386. “My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” — Song of Solomon 2:10, Bible
387. “Good morning America, how are you?” — City of New Orleans, Arlo Guthrie
388. “Good day sunshine, good day sunshine, good day sunshine.” — Good Day Sunshine, The Beatles
389. “The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night.” — Isaiah 21:12, Bible
390. “Awake thou that sleepest.” — Ephesians 5:14, Bible
391. “Arise from the dead.” — Ephesians 5:14, Bible
392. “Walk as children of light.” — Ephesians 5:8, Bible
393. “Let there be morning light.” — Genesis 1:3, Bible
394. “The day is thine.” — Psalm 74:16, Bible
395. “The night is far spent.” — Romans 13:12, Bible
396. “The day is at hand.” — Romans 13:12, Bible
397. “I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning.” — Psalm 59:16, Bible
398. “Hear my voice in the morning.” — Psalm 5:3, Bible
399. “He is risen; he is not here.” — Mark 16:6, Bible
400. “The morning was now come.” — John 21:4, Bible

What these teach: The short lines in this section prove that a morning does not need a long speech, with Franklin, Farjeon, Marley, Ragni, Blake, Beatles, and Simone each saying it in a handful of words. Pick one, say it out loud, and let the rest of the day follow.

How to Choose and Use Good Morning Quotes

A morning message works best when it arrives before the day has had a chance to rush past. A single thoughtful line, read with the first cup of coffee, can set the tone for everything that follows, which is why so many people keep a small habit of sharing good morning quotes with the people they care about. The line itself does not need to be long or grand. It only needs to feel true to the morning at hand, whether that morning is quiet, busy, hopeful, or hard.

The first choice is always the person who will read the line. A message for a partner can be tender and private, a message for a close friend can be warm and playful, and a message for a colleague should stay polite and encouraging. Thinking about the reader first keeps the note from sounding generic, and it is the simplest way to make good morning quotes feel personal rather than copied. When the line matches the relationship, the reader can tell, even in a single sentence.

Short lines are the safest choice for a text message, because they arrive complete on a small screen with nothing to scroll past. Section 13 of this collection gathers the briefest lines, and the briefest good morning quotes are the ones most people reach for on a busy weekday. A short line also respects the reader’s time, since it can be read in a glance between waking and getting ready. If you only have a few seconds, choose brevity, and let one clear image of morning light do the work.

Longer lines belong in places where the reader has time to sit with them, such as a handwritten card, a letter, or a journal page. A passage from a poem or a novel can unfold slowly there, and the reader can return to it later in the day. This is where good morning quotes borrowed from longer works shine, because their original context gives them weight. A card that carries a full verse feels like a gift in itself, rather than a greeting squeezed into a notification.

Readers who begin the day with faith often turn to the Bible sections first, and for good reason. Verses about light, mercy renewed each morning, and joy arriving with the dawn speak directly to the experience of waking. When you share one of these good morning quotes, keep its reference attached, so the reader knows exactly where it comes from. A verse offered with its source feels steady and trustworthy, and it lets the reader look up the surrounding passage if the line moves them.

Some mornings mark a genuine fresh start, such as the first day of a new job, the morning after a difficult week, or the start of a new year. Lines about sunrise and new beginnings fit those days better than a cheerful greeting, because they name the feeling of beginning again. Choosing good morning quotes that speak of light returning after darkness tells the reader that you understand what this particular morning means. The right line does not pretend the past is gone; it points toward what comes next.

When you are unsure what to send, start with the Editor’s Picks at the top of this collection. Those ten lines were chosen to cover the main moods of morning, from solemn dawn to bright sunrise, so one of them will usually fit. Reading through a shortlist of good morning quotes first also saves you from scrolling through all four hundred lines while half awake. Pick the line that makes you pause, even slightly, and trust that pause. If it moved you, it has a good chance of moving the person you send it to.

Personalizing a message does not mean rewriting the line itself, and it should not mean changing an author’s words. Instead, add your own sentence around the line: a name at the start, a short note about why you thought of them, or a wish for their specific day. That frame is what turns a shared line into a personal greeting. The best good morning quotes travel well this way, because the quoted words stay intact while your own words supply the warmth that only you can give.

One of the good morning quotes in this collection, paired with a photograph, often lands more strongly than text alone, especially on social media. A picture of sunrise, a quiet street, or a window full of light gives the words something to rest on, and the reader sees the morning before reading about it. Keep the image calm and uncluttered, so the line remains easy to read. When the picture and the words agree, the post feels peaceful rather than busy, which suits the hour it celebrates.

One useful habit is to read a single morning line before touching news or email, as a small pause between sleep and the demands of the day. It takes less than a minute, and it gives the mind something steady to carry into the first tasks. People who keep this habit often say the day feels less rushed, even when the schedule is full. Over time, the practice of beginning with good morning quotes becomes a gentle ritual, a way of choosing intention before the world starts choosing for you.

At work, a morning line should encourage without overstepping, which means favoring lines about fresh starts, steady effort, and light over lines that are intimate or sentimental. A short, hopeful line in a team chat can lift a Monday without making anyone uncomfortable. Avoid lines that assume a shared faith or a close personal bond unless you know the reader well. The goal is a greeting drawn from good morning quotes that any colleague would be glad to receive, and that still sounds like it came from a real person.

Generic greetings fail because they could belong to anyone, on any day, and the reader can sense that instantly. A line that names something specific, such as dawn light, a first cup of coffee, or mercies made new, feels chosen rather than automatic. That is why this collection is organized by theme, so you can look for the image that matches the actual morning outside your window. When good morning quotes carry a concrete detail, they stop sounding like a template and start sounding like attention.

As captions, good morning quotes work best when they are short and leave room for the photograph to speak. A sunrise picture needs only a few words beneath it, and a longer line can crowd the image. Keep the author’s name with the line when one is given, and keep any attribution label exactly as it appears here. A caption that credits its source looks thoughtful, and it also helps readers who want to find more lines by the same writer. Brevity, credit, and a calm image make the whole post feel considered.

Not every morning is bright, and a line sent on a hard morning should acknowledge that honestly rather than insisting on cheerfulness. Lines about hope, endurance, and light returning are kinder on such days than lines that demand happiness. If someone you know is going through a difficult week, a quiet line about beginning again can feel like company rather than pressure. The most caring good morning quotes for hard days are the ones that leave room for sadness while still pointing, gently, toward light.

Gratitude gives a morning message a natural shape, because it turns attention toward what is already good before the day begins. A line about light, breath, or a new beginning, chosen from good morning quotes, pairs well with a short personal note naming one thing you are thankful for. You might thank the reader for yesterday’s kindness, or simply note that you are glad they are in your life. That combination of a timeless line and a present-tense thanks feels both grounded and warm, and it rarely sounds forced.

Winter mornings and summer mornings ask for different lines, since one begins in darkness and the other in early light. In winter, a line about light arriving, lamps, or dawn breaking through cold air matches what the reader actually sees. In summer, a line about open windows, birdsong, or long golden mornings fits better. Matching the line to the season is a small act of observation, and it is one reason themed good morning quotes feel more alive than a greeting that ignores the weather outside.

Birthdays, anniversaries, and first days deserve a line that marks the occasion rather than an ordinary greeting. A line about new beginnings, chosen from good morning quotes, suits a birthday morning well, since a birthday is itself a small new year. You can pair the line with a short personal wish that names the year ahead, keeping the quoted words intact and adding your own hopes beside them. That balance, a lasting line plus a present wish, is what makes a special-morning message feel celebratory instead of routine.

For friends far away, a morning line can shrink the distance for a moment, arriving at the start of their day even when you are in another time zone. Keep the line short enough to survive a notification preview, and add a sentence that shows you know something about their life right now. A line sent across distance works best when it feels timed to their morning, not yours, so consider when they will actually wake. Thoughtful timing turns good morning quotes into a small daily bridge between two places.

Honesty about sources matters whenever you share lines by famous names, because some beloved lines are repeated far more confidently than scholars can confirm. This collection labels uncertain lines as attributed rather than stating them as fact, and you should keep those labels when you pass a line along. Dropping a label to make a line sound more authoritative would mislead the reader, even if the intention is kind. Keeping the credit exact is a mark of respect, both for the reader and for the writer whose name is attached.

Music lovers often connect most with the song lines among good morning quotes in Section 8, because a familiar lyric carries its melody along with its words. A song line about sunrise can bring back the whole feeling of hearing it, which is something a plain greeting cannot do. When you share a lyric, keep the song and artist attached, just as you would keep a poet’s name with a verse. That credit also helps the reader find the song and listen to it, turning a morning greeting into a small shared listening moment.

Philosophers and thinkers write about waking as a choice, not just an event, and their lines suit mornings when you want to set an intention. A line about waking fully, paying attention, or beginning deliberately, found among good morning quotes, can serve as a quiet resolution for the day. Read such a line slowly, and ask what one thing it invites you to do differently today. Used this way, good morning quotes become less like decoration and more like a compass, pointing the day in a direction you actually chose.

Proverbs and sayings of the early hours suit practical mornings, when the reader needs steadiness more than poetry. A short proverb about early rising, diligent work, or the value of the morning hour can feel like advice from a trusted elder. These good morning quotes work well for students, workers, and anyone facing a demanding day, because they are plain and direct. Pair a proverb with a practical wish, such as hoping the reader’s first task goes smoothly, and the message feels both useful and kind.

Romantic poets describe dawn as something beautiful in itself, not merely as the start of work, and their lines suit slow mornings. A verse about light on a city, mist over a field, or the first color in the sky invites the reader to look out of the window and notice. Such lines are best shared with people who love language and landscape, and they pair beautifully with a photograph of an actual sunrise. When good morning quotes borrow the eye of a poet, they teach the reader to see the morning, not just to greet it.

American poets at sunrise often write with a direct, hopeful voice that suits a straightforward morning message. Their lines about waking, light, and the fresh day tend to be clear rather than ornate, which makes them easy to send to almost anyone. If you want one of the good morning quotes that feels both literary and approachable, this section is a good place to look. A clear line from a respected poet carries weight without demanding that the reader untangle difficult language before breakfast.

Lines from classic novels and stories carry the atmosphere of their scenes, so a morning line from a novel can feel like stepping into another world for a moment. Readers who love fiction often enjoy recognizing a line’s origin, and the recognition itself becomes part of the pleasure. When you share a novel line from these good morning quotes, keep the book’s title with it, since the title helps the reader place the scene. A story-rich line can make an ordinary morning feel a little larger, as if the day began inside a book.

Section 11 gathers lines of hope and new beginnings, and those are the lines to reach for when someone is starting over. A new job, a move, a recovery, or simply a decision to change a habit all begin on some morning, and a line that names hope, chosen from good morning quotes, gives that morning language. Send such a line early, before the day’s doubts have time to gather, and add one plain sentence of your own encouragement. The combination of a timeless hope and a present voice can steady a person at the exact hour they need it.

Lines about sunrise, light, and the natural morning suit people who spend their mornings outdoors, whether walking, gardening, or simply watching the sky. A line that describes light moving across a landscape matches what such a reader has just seen, and the match itself feels like understanding. These lines also work well as captions for outdoor photographs, where the words and the image describe the same moment. When good morning quotes echo the natural world, they remind the reader that every morning is, in its own way, an event worth noticing.

Sending one good line beats sending five, because a flood of greetings dilutes each one and can feel like noise before breakfast. Choose a single entry from these good morning quotes that fits the day and the reader, send it once, and let it stand. If you share morning lines daily, variety matters more than volume, so draw from different sections across the week rather than repeating the same favorite. A reader who receives one well-chosen line each morning will look forward to it, while a reader buried in forwards may stop reading altogether.

Timing matters as much as wording, since a morning greeting that arrives at noon has already missed its moment. Aim for the hour when the reader actually wakes, which may differ from your own schedule, especially across time zones. A line from good morning quotes that arrives with the first light feels like part of the morning itself, while a late one feels like an afterthought. If you schedule messages, set them for early morning in the reader’s time zone, and keep the habit consistent enough that the reader can count on it.

A quoted line plus one sentence of your own is the most reliable formula for a morning message, because it combines lasting words with present attention. The quote supplies beauty or wisdom, and your sentence supplies the proof that you were thinking of this particular person today. Keep your own sentence short and specific, naming something real about their day, such as a meeting, a journey, or a rest they deserve. That small addition is what keeps good morning quotes from feeling like forwards, and turns them into genuine correspondence.

Keeping a small list of favorite good morning quotes saves time on mornings when you are in a hurry, and it also reveals which lines you return to again and again. Note the section and author of each favorite, so you can find it quickly and credit it correctly. Rotating through favorites across the week keeps your messages fresh, and it prevents any single line from wearing out. Over months, your list becomes a small portrait of what mornings mean to you, which is a pleasant thing to discover about yourself.

Family mornings, especially with children, call for lines that are simple, cheerful, and easy to understand. A short line about sunrise or a new day, chosen from good morning quotes, can become part of a breakfast routine, read aloud before school or work. Children often enjoy repeating a favorite line, and the repetition itself becomes a comforting ritual. Keep the language gentle and the message brief, so the morning stays calm rather than turning into a lesson. A shared line at breakfast can set a kind tone for the whole household.

Journaling with a morning line is a quiet practice that suits people who like to begin the day by writing. Copy a line from these good morning quotes that fits the morning into your journal, then write a few sentences about what it brings to mind. The line acts as a starting point, not as an answer, and your own writing does the real work of reflection. Over weeks, the pairing of quoted lines and personal entries builds a record of mornings that you can look back on, noticing which themes return and how your days have changed.

When a morning feels ordinary, with no special occasion and no crisis, a simple line about light and beginning is enough. Ordinary mornings make up most of life, and they deserve a greeting that honors them without exaggeration. A plain, hopeful line sent on an ordinary Tuesday can be surprisingly welcome, precisely because nothing special prompted it. The habit of marking ordinary mornings with good morning quotes says that every day, not only the dramatic ones, is worth greeting well.

At the end of this guide, the advice narrows to one practice: choose one line, for one person, at the right hour, and mean it. The size of this collection is a resource, not a requirement, and you never need to use more than a fraction of it. Let the sections help you find good morning quotes that fit, keep the credit attached, and add your own words beside it. Done daily, that small practice turns a greeting into a kindness, and a kindness repeated each morning becomes a steady part of how you care for people.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good morning quote to start the day?

A good morning quote to start the day is one that names the light and the fresh start, such as a Bible verse about joy in the morning, a Thoreau line about waking fully, or a short song line about the sun coming back. Pick one line, read it before you check your phone, and let it set the tone for the hours that follow.

What are the best good morning quotes for a text message?

The best good morning quotes for a text message are the short lines in Section 13, such as a one-line sunrise line, a short Bible line, or a song line about the sun. Short lines work on a phone because they arrive complete, with no need to scroll, and they still carry the author’s name for credit.

What is a famous quote about sunrise and new beginnings?

Famous quotes about sunrise and new beginnings include the Lamentations line about mercies new every morning, the Isaiah line about arising and shining, and the Emerson line about every day being the best day in the year. Each one ties the sunrise to a fresh start, which is why they have lasted for centuries.

Can I use these good morning quotes as captions?

Yes, short good morning quotes work well as captions, especially lines about sunrise, dawn, and new beginnings from the Editor’s Picks and Section 13. Keep the author’s name attached when one is given, and keep the “Attributed to” label where this article uses it rather than presenting a disputed line as a verified original.

Attribution Note

A note on honesty: some famous quotes have debated origins. Where a quote is widely repeated under a name but scholars have not confirmed it as that person’s exact words, this article labels it “Attributed to” rather than stating it as fact.

Quotes marked “Unknown” are traditional sayings or lines whose original author is not known, and proverb labels such as English Proverb, German Proverb, Russian Proverb, Irish Proverb, French Proverb, Spanish Proverb, Italian Proverb, Chinese Proverb, Japanese Proverb, African Proverb, Korean Proverb, Turkish Proverb, Indian Proverb, and Arabic Proverb mark sayings passed down in a tradition rather than written by one person. This keeps the collection honest: the wisdom is worth sharing, and so is the truth about where it came from.