To Lucasta, Going To The Wars

Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind,
That from the nunnery
Of thy chaste breasts, and quiet mind,
To war and arms I fly.

True, a new mistress now I chase,
The first foe in the field;
And with a stronger faith embrace
A sword, a horse, a shield.

Yet this inconstancy is such,
As you too shall adore;
I could not love thee, Dear, so much,
Loved I not honour more.

Richard Lovelace

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
Though 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 ferver 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'd turned when he rose.

Thomas Moore

One of the most beautiful recordings of this song is found on

All Quiet Along the Potomac

All quiet along the Potomac, they say,
Except now and then a stray picket
Is shot as he walks on his beat to and fro,
By a rifleman hid in the thicket.
'Tis nothing, a private or two now and then
Will not count in the news of the battle;
Not an officer lost, only one of the men,
Moaning out all alone the death rattle.

All quiet along the Potomac tonight,
Where the soldiers lie peacefully dreaming,
Their tents in the rays of the clear autumn moon,
O'er the light of the watch fires, are gleaming;
A tremulous sigh, as the gentle night wind,
Through the forest leaves softly is creeping,
While stars up above, with their glittering eyes,
Keep guard for the army is sleeping.

There's only the sound of the lone sentry's tread,
As he tramps from the rock to the fountain,
And thinks of the two in the low trundle bed,
Far away in the cot on the mountain.
His musket falls slack, and his face, dark and grim,
Grows gentle with memories tender,
As he mutters a prayer for the children asleep,
For their mother, may Heaven defend her.

The moon seems to shine just as brightly as then,
That night when the love yet unspoken
Leaped up to his lips when low-murmured vows,
Were pledged to be ever unbroken.
Then drawing his sleeve roughly over his eye
He dashes off tears that are welling,
And gathers his gun closer up to its place
As if to keep down the heart-swelling.

He passes the fountain, the blasted pine tree
The footstep is lagging and weary;
Yet onward he goes, through the broad belt of light,
Toward the shades of the forest so dreary.
Hark! Was it the night wind that rustled the leaves,
Was it moonlight so wondrously flashing?
It looks like a rifle -- "Ah! Mary, good-bye!"
And the lifeblood is ebbing and splashing.

All quiet along the Potomac tonight,
No sound save the rush of the river;
While soft falls the dew on the face of the dead --
The picket's off duty forever.

Ethel Lynn Beers

A lovely song. And still has something to say to us today. You can hear it here The Civil War or Songs of the Civil War

White in the Moon the Long Road Lies : A Shropshire Lad

I first read this in The Dark Is Rising (Boxed Set) series of books. I loved it and remembered it ever since. And it has been recorded several places such as this : Songs from A. E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad. He wrote some lovely poems.

WHITE in the moon the long road lies,
The moon stands blank above;
White in the moon the long road lies
That leads me from my love.

Still hangs the hedge without a gust,
Still, still the shadows stay:
My feet upon the moonlit dust
Pursue the ceaseless way.

The world is round, so travelers tell,
And straight though reach the track,
Trudge on, trudge on, ’twill all be well,
The way will guide one back.

But ere the circle homeward hies
Far, far must it remove:
White in the moon the long road lies
That leads me from my love.

A.E. Housman

In the Starlight from the Little House books by Laura Ingalls

In the starlight, in the starlight
let us wander gay and free
For there's nothing in the daylight
Half so dear to you and me.

Like the fairies in the shadow
Of the woods, we'll steal along
And our sweetest lays we'll warble
For the night was made for song

When none are by to listen
Or to chide us in our glee
In the starlight, in the starlight
Let us wander gay and free

In the starlight, in the starlight
Let us wander, let us wander
In the starlight in the starlight
Let us wander gay and free

In the starlight, in the starlight
At the daylight's dewy close
When the nightingale is singing
His last love song to the rose

In the calm, clear light of summer
When the breezes softly play
From the glitter of our dwelling
We will gently steal away

Where the silvery waters murmur
By the margin of the sea
In the starlight, in the starlight
We will wander gay and free

In the starlight, in the starlight
We will wander, we will wander
In the starlight in the starlight
We will wander gay and free

By J.E. Carpenter
From the Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Bonnie Dundee

Tae the lairds i' convention
T'was Claverhouse spoke
E'er the Kings crown go down,
There'll be crowns to be broke;
Then let each cavalier
Who loves honor and me
Come follow the bonnet
O' bonnie Dundee.

Chorus
Come fill up my cup,
Come fill up my can
Saddle my horses
And call out my men
And it's Ho! for the west port
And let us gae free,
And we'll follow the bonnets
O' bonnie Dundee!

Dundee he is mounted,
He rides doon the street,
The bells they ring backwards,
The drums they are beat,
But the Provost, douce man,
Says "Just e'en let him be
For the toon is well rid of that
De'il o' Dundee."

Chorus
Come fill up my cup,
Come fill up my can
Saddle my horses
And call out my men
And it's Ho! for the west port
And let us gae free,
And we'll follow the bonnets
O' bonnie Dundee!

There are hills beyond Pentland
And lands beyond Forth,
Be there lairds i' the south,
There are chiefs i' the north!
There are brave duniewassals,
Three thousand times three
Will cry "Hoy!" for the bonnets
O' bonnie Dundee.

Chorus
Come fill up my cup,
Come fill up my can
Saddle my horses
And call out my men
And it's Ho! for the west port
And let us gae free,
And we'll follow the bonnets
O' bonnie Dundee!

Then awa to the hills,
To the lea to the rocks,
Ere I own a usurper
I'll crouch with the fox
So tremble false Whigs,
In the midst o'your glee,
Ye have not seen the last
O' my bonnets and me.

Chorus
Come fill up my cup,
Come fill up my can
Saddle my horses
And call out my men
And it's Ho! for the west port
And let us gae free,
And we'll follow the bonnets
O' bonnie Dundee!

Sir Walter Scott

A recording can be found on Amazing Grace

Lorena

The years creep slowly by, Lorena
The snow is on the grass again
The sun's low down the sky, Lorena
The frost gleams where the flowers have been
But the heart throbs on as warmly now
As when the summer days were nigh
Oh, the sun can never dip so low
A-down affection's cloudless sky.

A hundred months have passed, Lorena
Since last I held that hand in mine
And felt the pulse beat fast, Lorena
Though mine beat faster far than thine
A hundred months...'twas flowery May
When up the hilly slope we climbed
To watch the dying of the day
And hear the distant church bells chime.

We loved each other then, Lorena
More than we ever dared to tell
And what we might have been, Lorena
Had but our loving prospered well
But then, 'tis past, the years have gone
I'll not call up their shadowy forms
I'll say to them, "Lost years, sleep on
Sleep on, nor heed life's pelting storms."

The story of the past, Lorena
Alas! I care not to repeat
The hopes that could not last, Lorena
They lived, but only lived to cheat
I would not cause e'en one regret
To rankle in your bosom now
"For if we try we may forget"
Were words of thine long years ago.

Yes, these were words of thine, Lorena
They are within my memory yet
They touched some tender chords, Lorena
Which thrill and tremble with regret
'Twas not the woman's heart which spoke
Thy heart was always true to me
A duty stern and piercing broke
The tie which linked my soul with thee.

It matters little now, Lorena
The past is in the eternal past
Our hearts will soon lie low, Lorena
Life's tide is ebbing out so fast
There is a future, oh, thank God!
Of life this is so small a part
'Tis dust to dust beneath the sod
But there, up there, 'tis heart to heart.

Reverend H.D.L. Webster

As on Songs of the Civil War

Ah, May the Red Rose Live Always!

Chorus:
Ah!may the red rose live always,
To smile upon earth and sky
Why should the beautiful ever weep?
Why should the beautiful die?

Lending a charm to every ray
That falls on her cheeks of light,
Giving the zephyr kiss for kiss,
And nursing the dewdrop bright

Chorus

Long may the daises dance the field,
Frolicking far and near!
Why should the innocent hide their heads
Why should the innocent fear?

Spreading their petals in mute delight
When morn in its radiance breaks,
Keeping a floral festival
Till the night-loving primrose wakes

Chorus

Lulled be the dirge in the cypress bough,
That tells of departed flowers
Ah! that the butterfly's gilded wing
Fluttered in evergreen bowers

Sad in my heart for the blighted plants
It's pleasures are just as brief
They bloom at the young year's joyful call,
And fade with teh autumn leaf

Chorus

Stephen Foster

As on Beautiful Dreamer - The Songs of Stephen Foster

Faded Coat of Blue

My brave lad sleeps in his faded coat of blue.
In a lonely grave unknown lies the heart that beat so true.
He sank faint and hungry among the famished brave,
And they laid him sad and lonely within his nameless grave.

CHORUS: No more the bugle calls the weary one.
Rest, noble spirit, in thy grave unknown.
I'll find you and know you among the good and true
When a robe of white is given for the faded coat of blue.

He cried, "Give me water and just a little crumb,
And my mother she will bless you for all the years to come.
Please tell me sweet sister so gentle, good, and true
That I'll meet her up in heaven in my faded coat of blue."--CHORUS

He said, "My dear comrades, you cannot take me home,
But you'll mark my grave for mother, she'll find me if she comes,
I fear that she'll not know me among the good and true
When I meet her up in Heaven in my faded coat of blue.--CHORUS

No dear one was nigh him to close his mild blue eyes
No gentle voice was by him to give him sweet replies
No stone marks the lonely sod on a lad so brave and true
In a lonely grave he's sleeping in his faded coat of blue--CHORUS

Long, long years have passed, and though he comes no more,
Yet my heart will startling beat with each footfall at my door.
I gaze o'er the hill where he waved his last adieu,
But no gallant lad I see in his faded coat of blue.--CHORUS

Over There - Songs From America's Wars

How Should a King Come

How should a King come.
Even a child knows the answer of course,
In a coach of gold with a pure white horse.
In the beautiful city in the prime of the day,
And the trumpets should cry and the crowds make way.
And the flags fly high in the morning sun,
And the people all cheer for the sovereign one.
And everyone knows that's the way that it's done.
That's the way that a King should come.

How should a King come.
Even a commoner understands,
He should come for His treasures,
And His houses and lands.
He should dine upon summer strawberries and milk,
And sleep upon bedclothes of satin and silk.
And high on a hill His castle should glow,
With the lights of the city like jewels below.
And everyone knows that's the way that it's done,
That's the way that a King should come.


How should a King come.
On a star filled night into Bethlehem,
Rode a weary woman and a worried man.
And the only sound in the cobblestone street,
Was the shuffle and the ring of their donkey's feet.
And a King lay hid in a virgin's womb,
And there were no crowds to see Him come.
At last in a barn in a manger of hay,
He came and God incarnate lay.

And the angels cried "glory glory to God".
Earth was silent so heaven rang,
"Glory glory to God."
Men were dumb so the angels sang,
"Glory glory to God
Peace on earth good will to men,
Glory glory to God".
Christ is born in Bethlehem,
"Glory glory to God.
Glory in the highest,
Glory to God.
Glory in the highest,
Glory to God".

Carol Owens Jimmy Owens


Found on Spirit of Christmas

In The Gloaming

In the gloaming, oh my darling
When the lights are soft and low
And the quiet shadows falling
Softly come and softly go

When the trees are sobbing faintly
With a gentle unknown woe
Will you think of me and love me
As you did once long ago?

In the gloaming, oh my darling
Think not bitterly of me
Though I passed away in silence
Left you lonely, set you free

For my heart was tossed with longing
What had been could never be
It was best to leave you thus dear
Best for you and best for me

In the gloaming, oh my darling
When the lights are soft and low
Will you think of me and love me
As you did once long ago

As on More Songs My Father Taught Me

I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets

I'll twine 'mid the ringlets of my raven black hair
The lilies so pale and the roses so fair
The myrtle so bright with an emerald hue
And the pale aronatus with eyes of bright blue.

I'll sing and I'll dance, my laugh shall be gay
I'll cease this wild weeping, drive sorrow away.
Tho' my heart is now breaking, he never shall know
That his name made me tremble and my pale cheeks to glow.

I'll think of him never, I'll be wildly gay
I'll charm ev'ry heart, and the crowd I will sway.
I'll live yet to see him regret the dark hour
When he won, then neglected, the frail wildwood flower.

He told me he loved me, and promis'd to love
Trough ill and misfortune, all others above
Another has won him; ah, misery to tell
He left me in silence, no word of farewell.

He taught me to love him, he call'd me his flower
That blossom'd for him all the brighter each hour
But I woke from my dreaming, my idol was clay
My visions of love have all faded away.

Wildwood Flower

Oh, I'll twine with my mingles and waving black hair
With the roses so red and the lilies so fair
And the myrtles so bright with emerald dew
The pale and the leader and eyes look like blue.

Oh, I'll dance, I will sing and my laugh shall be gay
I will charm ev'ry heart, in his crown I will sway
When I woke from my dreaming, idols were clay
All portions of love then had all flown away.

Oh, he taught me to love him and promised to love
And to cherish me over all others above
How my heart now is wond'ring misery can tell
He's left me no warning, no words of farewell.

Oh, he taught me to love him and called me his flow'r
That was blooming to cheer him through life's dreary hour
Oh, I'm longing to see him through life's dark hour
He's gone and neglected this pale wildwood flower.

on Wildwood Flower by the Carter Family,Will the Circle Be Unbroken (30th Anniversary Edition)and Wildwood Flower with June Carter Cash

The Rose of Tralee

The pale moon was rising above the green mountain,
The sun was declining beneath the blue sea;
When I strayed with my love to the pure crystal fountain,
That stands in the beautiful Vale of Tralee.
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me;
Oh no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever dawning,
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.


The cool shades of evening their mantle were spreading
And Mary all smiling sat listening to me;
The moon through the valley her pale rays were shining
When I won the heart of the Rose of Tralee.
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me;
Oh no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever dawning,
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.


On the far fields of India, mid war's bloody thunder,
Her voice was a solace and comfort to me,
But the cold hand of death has now torn us asunder
I'm lonely tonight for my Rose of Tralee.
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me;
Oh no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever dawning,
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.

Celtic Lovesongs: 20 Irish and Scottish Ballads

Annie Laurie

Maxwelton's braes are bonnie
Where early fa's the dew
And 'twas there that Annie Laurie
Gave me her promise true.
Gave me her promise true
Which ne'er forgot will be
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me doon and dee.

Her brow is like the snowdrift
Her throat is like the swan
Her face it is the fairest
That e'er the sun shone on.
That e'er the sun shone on
And dark blue is her e'e
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me doon and dee.

Like dew on th'gowan lying
Is th' fa' o'her fairy feet
And like the winds in summer sighing
Her voice is low and sweet.
Her voice is low and sweet
And she's a' the world to me
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me doon and dee.


Can be found on: Annie Laurie: Folksongs of the British Isles

Danny Boy

h Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.

And if you come, when all the flowers are dying
And I am dead, as dead I well may be
You'll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.

And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me
And all my dreams will warm and sweeter be
If you'll not fail to tell me that you love me
I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.

I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.

Available on The Very Best of the Irish Tenors

Give Me the Roses While I live

Wonderful things of folks are said
When they have passed away
Roses adorn the narrow bed
Over the sleeping clay

Give me the roses while I live
Trying to cheer me on
Useless are flowers that you give
After the soul is gone

Kind words are useless when folks lie
Cold in a narrow bed
Don't wait till death to speak kind words
Now should the words be said

Let us not wait to do good deeds
Till they have passed away
Now is the time to sow good seeds
While here on earth we stay

As on The Carter Family: 1927-1934

The Masters Bouquet

My great grandmother used to play and sing this song. She played both the guitar and piano. This is one of the few songs I can actually remember her playing.

Death is an angel sent down from above
Sent for the buds of the flowers we love
Truly it's so for in Heaven's own way
Each soul is a flower in the Master's bouquet

cho: Gathering flowers for the Master's bouquet
Beautiful flowers that will never decay
Gathered by angels and carried away
Forever to bloom in the Master's bouquet

Loved ones are passing each day and each hour
Passing away as the life of a flower
But every bud and each blossom some day
Will bloom as a flower in the Master's bouquet

Let us be faithful till life's work is done
Blooming with love till the Reaper shall come
Then we'll be gathered together someday
Transplanted to bloom in the Master's bouquet

As on the Complete Columbia Recordings

Lifes Railway to Heaven

Life is like a mountain railway, with an engineer that's brave
We must make the run successful, from the cradle to the grave,
Heed the curves, the hills, the tunnels, never falter never fail,
Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.

Blessed Savior, thou will guide us,
Till we reach that blissful shore,
Where the angels wait to join us,
In God's praise for evermore.

As we roll along the mainline, there'll be storms and there'll be night,
There'll be sidetracks unexpected, on the left and on the right,
But with the straight always before us, and our hearts upon the prize,
There'll be no disembarkation until we reach paradise.

Blessed Savior, thou will guide us,
Till we reach that blissful shore,
Where the angels wait to join us,
In God's praise forevermore.

As sung Johnny Cash on Will the Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 2

Lost River

There's a lost river that flows
In a valley where no one goes,
Where the wild water's rush
Rumbles deep in the hush.

Gone far from there now,
Lord I'll be back somehow
To where the lost river winds
In the shadow of the pines

Oh, lost river, now I'm coming back
To the pot-belly stove, where the firewood's all stacked
oh Quebec girl, go with me,
oh my bell, my fleur de lis,
where the lost river winds
In the shadow of the pines

Now every body knows
Where that lost river flows
It's someplace he's lost
Behind bridges that he's crossed

Well, he'd like to return,
But his bridges are all burned
And he's much too far down
To return to higher ground

Oh, lost river, now I'm coming back
To the pot-belly stove, where the firewood's all stacked
oh Quebec girl, go with me,
oh my bell, my fleur de lis,
where the lost river winds
In the shadow of the pines

Oh lost river, far over ther ridge
Now is it too late for me to build me a new bridge?
To the bright golden time
When her love was still mine
And the world was still wild
Like the heart of a child

Oh, lost river, now I'm coming back
To the pot-belly stove, where the firewood's all stacked
oh Quebec girl, go with me,
oh my bell, my fleur de lis,
where the lost river winds
In the shadow of the pines

Where the lost river winds
In the shadow of the pines

Michael Martin Murphey as sung on Will the Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 2