10 OLD FOLKS AT HOME

*Way down upon de Swanee River
Far, far away,

Dere’s wha my heart is turning ever,
Dere’s wha de old folks stay.

All up and down de whole creation,
Sadly I roam,

Still longing for de old plantation,

And for de old folks at home.

Chorus:

All de world am sad and dreary,
Everywhere I roam;

Oh! darkies, how my heart grows weary,
Far from de old folks at home.

All roun’ de little farm I wandered,
When I was young;

Den many happy days I squander’d,
Many de songs I sung.

When I was playing with my brother,
Happy was I;

Oh! take me to my kind old mother,
There let me live and die.

Chorus:

11 BELIEVE ME IF ALL THOSE ENDEARING
YOUNG CHARMS

Believe me if all those endearing young charms
Which I gaze on so fondly today,

Were to change by tomorrow and fleet in my arms,
Like fairy gifts, fading away;

Thou would’st still be adored as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will;

And around the dear ruin, each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still!

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own
And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,

That the fervor and faith of a soul can be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear!

No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close;

As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets,
The same look which she turned when he rose!