Friday, October 25, 2013

Music for Today

Hard Times, Written by Stephen Foster, 1854

sung by the Irish Tenors

 

 

Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears,

While we all sup sorrow with the poor;

There's a song that will linger forever in our ears;

Oh Hard times come again no more.

Chorus:

Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,

Hard Times, hard times, come again no more

Many days you have lingered around my cabin door;

Oh hard times come again no more.


While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,

There are frail forms fainting at the door;

Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say

Oh hard times come again no more.

(Chorus)

There's a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away,

With a worn heart whose better days are o'er:

Though her voice would be merry, 'tis sighing all the day,

Oh hard times come again no more.

(Chorus)

Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,

Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore

Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave

Oh hard times come again no more.


 

 

 

3 comments:

SharonR said...

As the scriptures says, "It's better to go into the house of the mourning than to the house of feasting". (Something like that) That's because we think about how short life is when we see sadness, but only of ourselves and the here and now during festive times. Excellent song, Stephen Foster. He was a (several greats-) uncle of mine. I always like his music. Thank for posting.

Lydia said...

Very nice to know that, Sharon. I think there are a lot of Americans related to famous forefathers, and if they would research, could find out.

Lydia said...

I read a history of that piece, which reflected the attitude of the era, to be aware of the poor and suffering