From “Motel Topsy Turvy”, 1898
Words by Arthur J. Lamb
Music by John S. May
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by Denese Coulbeck:
Lyrics
- All the convict’s work is over
For the day is at its close
And in line they now are marching
Each man to his lonely cell
There is one among the convicts
Who soon sleep in sweet repose
He is dreaming of the one he loves so well
There’s a smile upon his sad face
He is murm’ring in his sleep
“Tis so sweet to be with mother dear again”
For he dreams his mother’s in his dreams
With joy he sees her weep
But he soon will wake and find his dream in vain
Chorus
Dreaming of mother and his home far away
Dreaming that he is once again a child at play
Once more at mother’s side he kneels down to pray
Dreaming of mother and home
- When the convict went to work next day
‘Twas with a better will
And in time his keeper did
A marked improvement in him see
Though his time was nearly up
His good work made it shorter still
And they told him that in one month he’d be free
But one morn he did not join them
And they went into his cell
When they spoke to him the convict did not move
Someone said, “He died while sleeping”
But they none of them could tell
He had wakened from his dream in heaven above
Sung here by Vancha March: