A nostalgic love ballad, 1856.
words and music by Stephen C. Foster
Many young women died from various causes at the time this song was written. Foster’s life was full of loss. He lost his childhood home when his father went bankrupt. Later his wife divorced him. These experiences enabled him to write on morbid subjects.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by Benjamin R. Tubb:
Lyrics
- Thou wilt come no more, gentle Annie
Like a flower thy spirit did depart
Thou art gone, alas! like the many
That have bloomed in the summer of my heart
Chorus
Shall we never more behold thee
Never hear thy winning voice again
When the Spring time comes, gentle Annie
When the wild flowers are scattered o’er the plain?
- We have roamed and loved ‘mid the bowers
When thy downy cheeks were in their bloom
Now I stand alone ‘mid the flowers
While they mingle their perfumes o’er thy tomb - Ah! the hours grow sad while I ponder
Near the silent spot where thou art laid
And my heart bows down when I wander
By the streams and the meadows where we strayed
Sung here by Fred Feild: