A 1808 song about the power of enduring love.
words by Thomas Moore
the melody is a traditional Irish air
arranged by Sir John Andrew Stevenson
The melody is much older and would have been familiar to Irish poet Mr. Moore. A lady’s loss of charms may have been due to scars left by smallpox. First published in London in 1808, it was a song hit in the U.S. by 1810. This is a 1823 printing.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment track:
Lyrics
- Believe me if all those endearing young charms
Which I gaze on so fondly today
Were to change by tomorrow and fleet in my arms
Like fairy gifts fading away
Thou would’st still be adored as this moment thou art
Let thy loveliness fade as it will
And around the dear ruin, each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still - It is not while beauty and youth are thine own
And thy cheek unprofaned by a tear
That the fervour and faith of a soul can be known
To which time will but make thee more dear
Oh! the heart that has truly loved never forgets
But as truly loves on to the close
As the sunflower turns on her god, when he sets
The same look which she turned when he rose
Sung here by Fred Feild: