From the 1893 comic opera “The Maid of Plymouth”
words by Clay M. Greene
music by T. Pearsall Thorne
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James PItt-Payne:
Lyrics
Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?
Open You Heart to me,
Why is it sealed? Why unrevealed?
Secrets that should not be!
Why let them lie like a weight, John,
Deep in your lonely heart?
Why not be bold? Let them be told,
Surely the truth were best.
For there’s a wealth in the truth John!
Wide as the vale of years.
Open your eyes, Truth never dies,
Truth can dry floods of tears.
Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?
What are his dreams to me!
Tides ebb and flow, loves come and go,
That love can never be. Ah!
But there’s a place for a love, John,
Here in this heart so true!
Love never cold, Purer than gold,
Love, John, that’s all for you!
Sung here by Fred Feild: