by Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864)
Our Willie, dear, is dying
Language: English
Our Willie, dear, is dying, love, And thou art far away; His little breath is sighing, love, And cannot last till day. Tonight while sitting by his side I heard him speak of thee My father's coming home, he said, with presents bright for me; My father's coming home, he said, with presents bright for me. Come with an eagle's flight, Come like a beam of light, Come love, come home tonight; Our Willie dear is dying. His blooming cheeks have faded, love, The light has left his brow; His eyes are dim'd and shaded, love, You would not know him now. And when the fever rages, With a sad and restless moan, His feeble voice then warns us there is death within that tone; His feeble voice then warns us there is death within that tone. Come with an eagle's flight, Come like a beam of light, Come love, come home tonight; Our Willie dear is dying. No grief that e'er befell me, love, Could cause this heart such pain; Though neighbours kindly tell me, Love, He may get well again. But a mother's heart is watchful All the life has left his eyes; Oh come to night and weep with me before our darling dies Oh come tonight and weep with me before our darling dies. Come with an eagle's flight, Come like a beam of light, Come love, come home tonight; Our Willie dear is dying.
Authorship:
- by Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864), "Our Willie, dear, is dying" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864), "Our Willie, dear, is dying", published 1861. [voice and piano] [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Laura Prichard [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2015-12-26
Line count: 36
Word count: 239