The Lexington progress. (Lexington, Tenn.) 1884-current, 1921-07-08

l. mead;
The apples were ripe and ready I,
fan; hi, no, ready TO fall-- I
When came an old woman TO. gath
err them all; hi, no, to sathe
them all" .......-.
Still another:
a0h, the tree frog in the tree whel
the clouds begin to lower,
Says he, It's my opinion, we AZ,
gwine TO have q shower"
So he crept under leaf, all for oil
umbrella,
Says he, old thunder, you ma!
now begin to beller,"
The one song Of the kind that m,
daddy loved to sing was Gentle Eva,
and l remember it-proof:
"Have you heard the touching story
Told so sadly Of the cline
Where the rose in crimson glory
Blossoms all the summer time?
Oh, it tells US Of q maiden,
Golden haired and starry-eyed,
Young in years, by care Ger laden,
Who in angel beauty died."
And what man sixty years old has
not heard this?
"a little old man came ridin' by,
SEE l, old man your boss will die.
II he dies I'll tan his skin,
II he lives I'll ride him again
So clear the kitchen, old folks, young
folks,
Old Ferginny never tires"
But before I leave the songs which
antedate the eighties Of the last cen
fury, ! must recall "Lorena" and the
answer to it, "Paul Vane." Here is
the first Of "Lorena:"
"The years creep slowly by, Lorena
The snow is on, the grass agin,
The suns low down the sky, Lorena
The frost CLEANS where the flow.
ers have been,
But the heart throbs on as warmly
now
As when the summer days were
nigh
The sun can never dip so low, adowr
affections cloudless sky
And this is a part of What Lorens
said"
"The years are creeping slowly by
dear Paul
The winters come and go,
The wind sweeps past with mournful
cry, dear Paul,
And pelts my face with snow.
But there's no snow upon my heart,
dear Paul,
IT'S summer always there,
The early loves throw sunshine over
all
And sweeten memory, dear.
How many of you heard and sang
ben Bolt" long before "Trilby" res
directed it? l did and my recollecr
ton dates back before the writing
and dramatization of Trilby. One
verse:
ooh, don't you remember sweet Alice
Ben Bolt.
Sweet Alice with eyes hazel brown ?
How she wept with delight when you
gave her a smile,
And trembeled with fear at your
frown?
In the old churchyard in the valley,
Ben Bolt,
In corner obsure and xfahe,a -
They have fitted slab Of granite so
gray sas<sE1d
And sweet Alice lies under Ne
stone"
There was reply to it
"Oh, yes, | remember sweet Alice full
well,
Sweet Alice with eyes hazel brown"
but / never did know all the song.
Just before the war there came out
a mighty pretty song entitled, "Stone-
walls Jackson's Prayer" and my
mother sang and played it, but it
eludes me now.
Going up in the eighties of the last
century, there were many nice songs
of which can remember several, but
begging your pardon, | will first go
back to the period before that.
In the guitar rsusic Of my mother
there was little Irish ballad, which
was hked-"Kitty Tyrrel," and while
| remember all of it, / will inflict but
one verse:
You're looking as fresh as the morn,
darlin.'
You're looking as bright as the day
But while on your charms I'm delatin'
You're sth-alin' my poor heart
away.
But keep it, and welcome, Mavorneen,
Its loss I'm not going to mourn
But one hearts enough for one body,
So pray give me yours in return"
In Col. Henry Watterson's Look
ing Backward" in the Saturday Eve
ming Post of August l6, he refers to
Foster as a song writer and gives
Foster as the composer Of Susan
nah" "0ld Dog Tray" and "0ld I'm
Gle Ned" all Of which | remember in
part, but | never knew before who
wrote them. ] have forgotten the
first verse Of "Susannah',' but here
is one of them, and ! remember still
another:
1T rained all night the day ] left,