From the 1922 musical “Hayseed”.
Words by Brian Hooker.
Music by William Daly.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- In the city far away I am weary day by day
For the scent of new mown hay on the breeze
In the emptiness of night, I am hungry for the sight
Of a village green and white thro’ the trees
There are roses on the wall
Where the sloping sunbeams fall
And the elm trees over all whisper low
And across the valley swells
The cool tone of twilight bells
Like a song of somewhere else, long ago
Refrain
Down in old New England
The home I left behind me
There’s a bit of earth and sky
That is mine until I die
Night and day remind me
No matter where I roam
And the sun and the rain
Call me home, home again
My old New England home
- I can smell the faint perfume
Where the apple blossoms bloom
And a thousand bees find room, one by one
I can see the shadows glide
Down the distant mountainside
To the meadows warm and wide in the sun
In the hollows of the hills
I can hear the whipporwills
While the darkness throbs and thrills for the moon
And the woodlands wet with rain
Breathe a sweetness full of pain
Like a tale of love in vain, told in tune
Sung here by Fred Feild: